International Law

Indian Act deal without Land

By jarvis666

I don't know the full history of the Mi'kmaq of Newfoundland, but nevertheless, it is still great to see them get some rights, although the deal will not provide hunting and land rights. I find it a bit perplexing to be given rights under the Indian Act but no land to come with it, as one of the original reasons for the Indian Act back in the day was to set land aside for Indians.

But do keep in mind though that the Indian Act was crafted for colonialist purposes with the intention of assimilating Indians without really wanting them to be assimilated into mainstream society. It gets more complicated than that. In a nutshell, the Indian Act just reserved land aside to keep Indians out of the way, so I guess this is why I find the whole ?rights without land,? deal a bit weird, but still great to see them get at least some rights. Besides, as Chief Lasaga said; it?s a good start to future negotiations.

Full post as published by The Co-co Banana on March 29, 2008 (boomark / email).