International Law

Accepted Deal and the Indian Act

By jarvis666

?The federation chose to pursue status as a landless band, because so many of its members live in different communities and did not want to move from their homes to a reserve.?

?While the agreement will not give the province's Mi'kmaq land or hunting rights, it will provide money for education, health, economic development and other programs.?

The federation?s reason (although there may be more) for pursuing status as a landless band is pretty interesting. It goes to show that you don?t have to be on-reserve to have many of the ?rights? via the Indian Act. While the Indian Act didn?t have the greatest of intentions back when it was first made, latently and perhaps unintentionally, it does give some rights to status Indians, such as education and health, that could help address the many numerous issues we face today. There are many other outcomes today as well because of the Indian Act, but I don?t have time to get into them. Now is the time to study!

Overall though, the deal is, in my opinion, opening the door to more and bigger things down the road, and always another step down the road for Aboriginal self-government/determination.

Full post as published by The Co-co Banana on March 31, 2008 (boomark / email).