In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the ''
Indian Act
The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still ...
'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in
Her Majesty
Her Majesty may refer to:
* Majesty, a style used by monarchs (or a wife of a king)
** Margrethe II of Denmark (born 1940), Queen of Denmark
** Queen Camilla (born 1947), Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms; wife of Kin ...
,
that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a
band."
Indian reserves are the areas set aside for
First Nations, an
indigenous Canadian group, after a contract with the Canadian state ("
the Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differen ...
"), and are not to be confused with
land claims areas, which involve all of that First Nations' traditional lands: a much larger territory than any reserve.
Demographics
A single "band" (First Nations government) may control one reserve or several, while other reserves are shared between multiple bands. In 2003, the
Department of Indian and Northern Affairs stated there were 2,300 reserves in Canada, comprising . According to Statistics Canada in 2011, there are more than 600 First Nations/Indian bands in Canada and
3,100 Indian reserves across Canada. Examples include the
Driftpile First Nation, which like many bands, has only one reserve,
Driftpile River 150
Drift Pile River 150 is an Indian reserve of the Driftpile Cree Nation in Alberta, located within Big Lakes County. It is 6 kilometers southeast of Lesser Slave Lake. In the 2016 Canadian Census, it recorded a population of 828 living in 258 of it ...
. The
Bear River First Nation, who govern
Bear River 6,
Bear River 6A Bear River 6A is a 31.2ha Mi'kmaq reserve located in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. It is administratively part of the Bear River First Nation Bear River First Nation (Mi'kmaq: L'sɨtkuk) is a MÃkmaq First Nations band government located in bot ...
and
Bear River 6B Bear River 6B is a 24.3ha Mi'kmaq reserve located in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. It has a population of 16 in 2016.
It is administratively part of the Bear River First Nation Bear River First Nation (Mi'kmaq: L'sɨtkuk) is a MÃkmaq First Natio ...
, are one of many examples where a single government is responsible for more than one reserve.
In 2003, 60 percent of
status Indians
The Indian Register is the official record of people registered under the ''Indian Act'' in Canada, called status Indians or ''registered Indians''. People registered under the ''Indian Act'' have rights and benefits that are not granted to othe ...
lived on reserves. Of the 637,660 First Nations people who reported being Registered Indians, nearly one-half (49.3%) lived on an Indian reserve. This proportion varies across the country.
Many reserves have no resident population; typically they are small, remote, non-contiguous pieces of land, a fact which has led many to be abandoned, or used only seasonally (as a
trapping territory, for example).
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture ...
counts only those reserves which are populated (or potentially populated) as
"subdivisions" for the purpose of the national census. For the 2011 census, of the more than 3,100 Indian reserves across Canada, there were only 961 Indian reserves classified as
census subdivisions (including the six reserves added for 2011). Some reserves that were originally rural were gradually surrounded by urban development. Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary are examples of cities with
urban Indian reserves.
Governance
One band Chief and
Council commonly administer more than one reserve, such as the
Beaver Lake Cree Nation with two reserves or the
Lenape
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
people (in Canada incorporated as the
Munsee-Delaware Nation), who occupy Munsee-Delaware Nation Indian Reserve No. 1. This consists of three non-contiguous parcels of land totalling within the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation 42 near
Muncey, Ontario, which was formerly shared between them and the
Chippewas of the Thames First Nation as a single parcel of land. Some reserves are shared by multiple bands, whether as fishing camps or educational facilities such as
Pekw'Xe:yles, a reserve on the
Fraser River used by 21
Indian band
In Canada, an Indian band or band (french: bande indienne, link=no), sometimes referred to as a First Nation band (french: bande de la Première Nation, link=no) or simply a First Nation, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subjec ...
s that was formerly
St. Mary's Indian Residential School
St. Mary's Indian Residential School was the name of two Indian residential schools in Mission, British Columbia. The first was operated by the Roman Catholic Church of Canada, and the second was operated by the Canadian federal government. Approxi ...
and is an example of a reserve created in modern times. Another multi-band reserve of the
Sto:lo peoples is
Grass Indian Reserve No. 15
Grass Indian Reserve No. 15 is an Indian reserve in the area of the City of Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada, located 3.5 miles southeast of that city's downtown area. 64.80 ha. in size, it is shared by nine bands of the Sto:lo people. These ...
, which is located in the City of
Chilliwack and is shared by nine bands.
Treaties and reserves, 1763–1867
After the
Royal Proclamation of 1763 but before Confederation in 1867, the
Upper Canada Treaties (1764–1862 Ontario) and the
Douglas Treaties (1850–1854 British Columbia) were signed. "Some of these pre-confederation and post-confederation treaties addressed reserve lands, hunting, fishing, trapping rights, annuities and other benefits." Governor
James Douglas of British Columbia, which formally became a colony in 1858, also worked to establish many reserves on the mainland during his tenure, though most of these were overturned by successor colonial governments and later royal commissions once the province joined Confederation in 1871.
''Constitution Act 1867''
In 1867, legislative jurisdiction over "Indians and Lands reserved for the Indians" was assigned to the Parliament of Canada through the ''
Constitution Act, 1867'', a major part of
Canada's Constitution
The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents a ...
(originally known as the ''
British North America Act
The British North America Acts 1867–1975 are a series of Acts of Parliament that were at the core of the constitution of Canada. Most were enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and some by the Parliament of Canada. In Canada, some ...
''), which acknowledged that First Nations had special status. Separate powers covered "status and civil rights on the one hand and Indian lands on the other."
In 1870, the newly formed Dominion government acquired
Rupert's Land, a vast territory in
British North America consisting mostly of the
Hudson Bay drainage basin that had been controlled by the
Hudson's Bay Company under its Charter with the British Crown from 1670 to 1870. Numerous aboriginal groups lived in the same territory and disputed the sovereignty of the area. The Dominion of Canada promised Britain to honour the provisions of the
Royal Proclamation of 1763 to "negotiate with its Amerindians for the
extinguishment of their title and the setting aside of reserves for their exclusive use." This promise led to the
Numbered Treaties.
Numbered treaties, 1871–1921
Between 1871 and 1921, through
Numbered Treaties with First Nations, the Canadian government gained large areas of land for settlers and for industry in
Northwestern Ontario
Northwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and west of Lake Superior and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. Its western boundary is the ...
,
Northern Canada
Northern Canada, colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada#Territories, territor ...
and in
the Prairies. The treaties were also called the Land Cession or Post-Confederation Treaties.
Treaty 1 was a controversial agreement established August 3, 1871, between
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
and various
First Nations in southeastern
Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Win ...
, including the
Anishinaabe
The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawato ...
and the
Swampy Cree tribes. Treaty 1 First Nations comprise the
Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, Fort Alexander (
Sagkeeng First Nation),
Long Plain First Nation,
Peguis First Nation,
Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation,
Sandy Bay First Nation and
Swan Lake First Nation
The Swan Lake First Nation ( oj, Gaa-biskigamaag, meaning ''The lake that is curved'') is a Saulteaux band government located along Swan Lake in the Pembina Valley Region of Manitoba, Canada.
Its main reserve is Swan Lake 7, which is surrounded ...
.
The ''Indian Act 1876''
The rights and freedoms of Canada's First Nations people have been governed by the ''Indian Act'' since its enactment in 1876 by the Parliament of Canada. The provisions of Section 91(24) of the ''
Constitution Act, 1867'', provided Canada's federal government exclusive authority to legislate in relation to "Indians and Lands Reserved for Indians".
Wikwemikong Unceded Reserve on
Manitoulin Island is subject to the ''Indian Act'' provisions governing reserves even though its lands were
never ceded to the Crown by treaty.
''Indian Act''
The ''Indian Act'' gives the
Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations the right to "determine whether any purpose for which lands in a reserve are used is for the use and benefit of the band." Title to land within the reserve may be transferred to only the band or to individual band members. Reserve lands may not be seized legally, nor is the personal property of a band or a band member living on a reserve subject to "charge, pledge, mortgage, attachment, levy, seizure distress or execution in favour or at the instance of any person other than an Indian or a band".
Housing loans
While the ''Act'' was intended to protect the Indian holdings, the limitations make it difficult for the reserves and their residents to obtain financing for development and construction, or renovation. To answer this need,
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has created an on-reserve housing loan program. Members of bands may enter into a trust agreement with CMHC, and lenders can receive loans to build or repair houses. In other programs, loans to residents of reserves are guaranteed by the federal government.
Provinces and municipalities may expropriate reserve land if specifically authorized by a provincial or federal law. Few reserves have any economic advantages, such as resource revenues. The revenues of those reserves that do are held in trust by the minister of
Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Reserve lands and the personal property of bands and resident band members are exempt from all forms of taxation except local taxation.
Corporations owned by members of First Nations are not exempt, however. This exemption has allowed band members operating in proprietorships or partnerships to sell heavily taxed goods, such as cigarettes, on their reserves at prices considerably lower than those at stores off the reserves. Most reserves are self-governed, within the limits already described, under guidelines established by the ''Indian Act''.
Due to treaty settlements, some Indian reserves are now incorporated as villages, such as
Gitlaxt'aamiks, British Columbia, which like other
Nisga'a reserves was relieved of that status by the
Nisga'a Treaty. Similarly, the Indian reserves of the
Sechelt Indian Band The Sechelt Indian Band, also known as the shishalh first nation, is a First Nations band government located in the southern Sunshine Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. They were an early signatory with the BC government on land claims, an ...
are now Indian government districts.
Public policy
Indian reserves play a very important role in public policy stakeholder consultations, particularly when reserves are located in areas that have valuable natural resources with potential for economic development. Beginning in the 1970s, First Nations gained "recognition of their constitutionally protected rights." First Nations' rights are protected by section 35 of the ''
Constitution Act, 1982''. By 2002, (Valiente) First Nations had already "finalised 14 comprehensive land claims and self-government agreements, with numerous others, primarily in northern Canada and British Columbia, at different stages of negotiations." Land claims and self-government agreements are "modern treaties" and therefore hold constitutional status.
CEPA 1999
The ''
Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999'' (CEPA), "places aboriginal participation on par with federal ministers and the provinces in the National Advisory Committee." Among other things, CEPA clarified the term "aboriginal land" in 3 (1): "The definitions in this subsection apply in this Act. "aboriginal land" means (a) reserves, surrendered lands and any other lands that are set apart for the use and benefit of a band and that are subject to the ''Indian Act''."
Under sections 46–50 of the CEPA,
Environment and Climate Change Canada's
National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) was initiated. NPRI is the inventory of "pollutants released, disposed of and sent for recycling by facilities across the country". The NPRI is used by First Nation administrations on reserves, along with other research tools, to monitor pollution. For example, NPRI data showed the
Aamjiwnaang First Nation in Sarnia, Ontario, was "ground zero for Ontario's heaviest load of air pollution."
Water quality
By December 21, 2017, there were 67 long-term
boil-water advisories that had been in effect for longer than a year.
These are "public water systems managed by the federal government".
There were also 18 communities that had "water issues for between two and 12 months."
According to statistics gathered by
Health Canada
Health Canada (HC; french: Santé Canada, SC)Health Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Health (). is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for national health policy. ...
and the
First Nations Health Authority
The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) is a health service delivery organization responsible for administering a variety of health programs and service for First Nations people living in BC.
Overview
The FNHA is part of a First Nations Healt ...
, in 2015, there were "162 drinking water advisories in 118 First Nation communities".
In October 2015,
Neskantaga First Nation
Neskantaga First Nation (formerly known as Lansdowne House Indian Band) is a remote Oji-Cree First Nation band government in the northern reaches of the Canadian province of Ontario, situated along the shore of Attawapiskat Lake in the Distr ...
reported that its "20-year boil-water advisory" was "the longest running drinking water advisory in Canada."
Shoal Lake 40 First Nation was under an 18-year boil water advisory.
By 2006, nearly 100 Indian reserves had boil-water advisories and many others had substandard water.
Ḵwiḵwa̱sut'inux̱w Ha̱xwa'mis First Nation, on
Vancouver Island, had a boil-water advisory beginning in 1997. In October 2005, "high ''
E. coli'' levels were found in the
Kashechewan First Nation reserve's drinking water and chlorine levels had to be increased to 'shock' levels, causing skin problems and eventually resulting in an evacuation of hundreds of people from the reserve and costing approximately $16 million."
See also
*
Aboriginal land title in Canada
*
Block settlement
*
Indian reservation
An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which i ...
(United States)
*
Indigenous specific land claims in Canada
*
Lands inhabited by indigenous peoples
*
List of Indian reserves in Canada by population
This is a list of Indian reserves in Canada which have over 500 people, listed in order of population from data collected during the 2006 Census of Canada, unless otherwise cited from Aboriginal Affairs. Approximately 40% of First Nations peo ...
*
The Canadian Crown and Indigenous peoples of Canada
Notes and references
Notes
References
Citations
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General references
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Further reading
* This series provides data on individual reserves including population by Aboriginal identity, immigrant population, educational attainment, labour, income and housing. In the documents footnote it was pointed out that, "
spondents self-identified as 'First Nations (North American Indian)' on the NHS questionnaire; however, the term 'First Nations people' is used throughout this document." In the document, "term 'Aboriginal identity' refers to whether the person reported being an Aboriginal person, that is, First Nations (North American Indian), Métis or Inuk (Inuit) and/or being a Registered or Treaty Indian, (that is, registered under the ''Indian Act'' of Canada) and/or being a member of a First Nation or Indian band. Aboriginal peoples of Canada are defined in the ''Constitution Act, 1982'', section 35 (2) as including the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada."
External links
*
{{Indigenous rights footer
1871 treaties
Types of administrative division
Local government in Canada
Numbered Treaties