An Act to encourage the gradual Civilization of the Indian Tribes in this Province, and to amend the Laws respecting Indians, 1857

An Act to encourage the gradual Civilization of the Indian Tribes in this Province, and to amend the Laws respecting Indians, 1857

British Columbia
Indigenous people
Colonialism
Americanisation
Assimilation
19th century

This source is an extract of a government report to produce legislation to ‘civilise’ the native peoples in Canadian provinces. The document sets out that for the natives to have equal legal distinction to other Canadian subjects (European colonists) regarding land rights, they must follow the laws set out in the document. The document touches on the role of functionaries to examine the ‘Indians’ for this act, the need for ‘Indians’ to go through a state of probation. The historical significance of this was that only one native chose to opt in to this scheme. The British were naïve to think that the luster of becoming a full British citizen would be enough to convince natives in British Columbia to assimilate. This scheme was a failure.

For more see:
https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/indian-act-and-enfranchisement-of-indigenous-peoples

British government

First Nations Digital Document Sources

http://gsdl.ubcic.bc.ca/collect/firstna1/index/assoc/HASH2b52.dir/doc.pdf

10 June 1857

David Cook

First Nations Digital Document Sources

English

Textual - government legislation

19th century British Columbia