Religion

Furthering the steps taken by the 1920 amendment that granted the superintendent general the authority to decide whether a woman who married a non-First Nations man was allowed to live on reserve, this amendment automatically enfranchised women who married non-status men, barring them from living on-reserve. It also forced enfranchised women to sell their reserve lands and to be paid the treaty monies to which they were entitled. This amendment also introduced the ‘double-mother’ rule, where a child whose mother or grandmother had obtained status solely through marriage automatically lost their status at age 21 [section 12(1)(a)(iv)]. Women were also allowed to vote in band elections with this amendment. Intoxicant prohibition was also reinforced, making it illegal for an Aboriginal person to possess alcohol or to be intoxicated both on and off-reserve. ---------------- In other sections, this Act removed some of the power of the Superintendent-General that existed in previous iterations, giving greater control to Aboriginal groups. However, significant power still lay in the hands of the Minister and Governor-in-Council. ------------------- Regulations concerning participation in ceremonies, attendance at fairs and rodeos, and expropriation of reserve lands that had been added mostly between 1890 and 1918 were removed in this version.

In an attempt to stop people from using passes to attend ceremonies on other reserves, Deputy Superintendent Graham issued a directive to Indian Agents to prosecute individuals that participated in any activities other than those specified on the pass they were issued. Graham further noted the Royal North-West Mounted Police had greatly cooperated with the wishes of the Indian Agents, and had not questioned the legality of preventing First Nations from participating in dances and other ceremonies on neighbouring reserves. The dances were perceived as a threat because it continued the transmission of traditions and customs, which counteracted colonial methods to eliminate Indigenous cultures across Canada. 

Several communities created petitions of complaint that were sent to Indian Affairs against the prohibition on ceremonial gatherings, arguing that other groups had received permission to hold these events.

Duncan Campbell Scott, who had joined the Department of Indian Affairs in 1880, was appointed Deputy Superintendent of the department in 1913. He continued to serve in this position until his retirement in 1932. Upon his appointment as Deputy Superintendent, he issued a statement on October 15 to Indian Agents called “General Instructions to Indian Agents in Canada,” reminding them to uphold the section of the Indian Act that prohibited Indigenous rituals.

After returning to power in 1878 the Conservative government employed Nicholas Flood Davin to examine the American Residential Schools system, as well as some Aboriginal schools in Canada to advise the government in the creation of a school system for the Northwest Territories. Davin visited with leaders from the Five Civilized Nations during a visit in Washington. He also visited the White Earth Agency in Minnesota. Using the example of these groups, he created a list of thirteen recommendations for the implementation of industrial boarding schools in the Northwest Territories. The recommendations were: 1. Wherever mission schools exist already, they should be used as industrial boarding schools through the establishment of a contract between the church group and the government. 2. No more than four industrial boarding schools should be established at first. 3. Industrial boarding schools should be established both in the North and the South of Saskatchewan. One should be established near Prince Albert in connection with the Episcopalian Church. 4. A school should be established at the Old Bow Fort in connection with the Methodist Church. 5. Qu'Appelle would be a suitable place for the establishment of a school, which could be associated with the Roman Catholic Church. 6. A school should be established at Riding Mountain with the Presbyterian Church. The importance of schools associated with religion denomination was judged to be obvious, as the first step of "civilizing" Indigenous people was to rid them of their faith. 7. A distinction should be made between parents who sent their children to school regularly, those who were ambivalent to them going, and those who refused to let them go. Those in the first group should be given a material reward, like increased food rations. 8. "Where practicable some inducement of a [moral?] nature should be held out to the child." 9. As bands come to accept education and civilization, school should become compulsory. 10. The moral and intellectual character of teachers is vitally important. Because the moral character of teachers is arguably more important than their intellect, missionaries are ideal candidates for this job because they have the enthusiasm of their religious convictions driving their morals. 11. In order to ensure the quality of the education being offered, schools should regularly be subject to inspections. 12. Special advantages and opportunities should be particularly promising students, who should be trained as teachers and clerks for the Department of Indian Affairs. 13. A teacher's salary should be enough to draw good men to the work. Teachers should be paid according to his qualifications.

The new Indian agent in charge of the Standing Buffalo reserve, William Graham, instructed the band to destroy their dance lodge in an attempt to stop the practice of this ritual.

Once the Sun Dance and other Indigenous ceremonies were prohibited in the 1895 Indian Act, bands often altered their traditional practices when performing the Sun Dance and other ceremonies.  This reduced surveillance and scrutiny from police and government officials. Some of the strategies used included elimination of the aspect of skin-piercing, performing the ceremony at night, travelling south of the border to participate in ceremonies held in the U.S., integrating components of the Christian religion, and admitting entrance of Euro-Canadians.

Incitement:

An 1884 amendment to the Indian Act criminalized the act of "inciting three or more [Indigenous people] against civil officials." 

"Whoever induces, incites or stirs up any three or more Indians, non-treaty Indians, or half-breeds apparently acting in concert,-

(a.) To make any request or demand of any agent or servant of the Government on a riotous, routous, disorderly or threatening manner, or in a manner calculated to cause a breach of the peace; or-.

(b.) To do an act calculated to cause a breach of the peace,-

Is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be liable to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labor.

*A PDF Copy of the Amendment is attached at the bottom of this entry.

Ceremonies

The superintendent general was also given the power to regulate and/or prohibit the sale of ammunition to Indigenous peoples. This amendment also legislated a prohibition on the Potlatch and Tamanawas (Indigenous ceremonies from the west-coast). In 1895, further practices including the Sun Dance and the Thirst Dance were banned, and in 1914 First Nations people in Western Canada were banned from participating in 'costumed' rituals without official permission.

"The potlatch (from the Chinook word Patshatl) is a ceremony integral to the governing structure, culture and spiritual traditions of various First Nations living on the Northwest Coast and in parts of the interior western subarctic. It primarily functions to redistribute wealth, confer status and rank upon individuals, kin groups and clans, and to establish claims to names, powers and rights to hunting and fishing territories." (Gadacz, René R.."Potlatch." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. October 24, 2019.)

Missionaries sent a petition and several correspondences to push for legislation that would outlaw the Potlatch and Tamanawas dances. Missionaries were of the opinion that these ceremonies were antithetical to Social Darwinist concepts of "progress" by preventing an intellectual and spiritual "elevation." In the eyes of Missionaries and Colonists, the Potlatch undermined European moral and social values. The Indian Reserve Commissioner, G. Sproat reported:

“The ‘Potlach’ [sic] is the parent of numerous vices which eat out the heart of the people. It produces indigence, thriftlessness, and a habit of roaming about which prevent home associations. It is inconsistent with all progress. A large amount of the prostitution common among some of the Coast Tribes is directly caused by the ‘Potlach.’ ” (LaViolette, Forrest. The Struggle for Survival: Indian Cultures and the Protestant Ethic in British Columbia. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1973. p. 38).

Needless to say, the erroneous claims of Christian Missionaries were unsubstantiated and portrayed Indigenous peoples negatively to further their own colonial conquests. Missionaries did not understand Indigenous customs or the culture of generosity characteristic in Pacific Northwest Cultures. Indian agents and missionaries believed that if they could successfully assimiliate Indigenous youth to the “white man’s ways” that it would be easier to stop the Potlatch from happening.

As an example, Methodist missionary Cornelius Bryant wrote in an 1882 letter on the Potlatch:

“I have pointed out to them over and over again, the evils attending it, which the younger members do not fail to recognize, and even appreciate its intended abolishment” and “The Indians are generally loyal, have great respect for ‘the Queen’s laws’ and would stop the Potlaches.” Unfortunately, the “white man’s ways” did not stick - though the people managed to build homes and barns and farmed the land, they eventually went back to their old Indian ways. For many years I entertained the hope that their heathenish practices would have disappeared as soon as the young people adopted the habits of the whites, and applied themselves to the pursuits of various industries, but now I am sorry to state that many of the young men who for years had improved their fertile lands, built houses and barns on them and made for themselves and their families an almost independent life, have abandoned their farms and become again the adepts of superstition and barbarism.” (Department of Indian Affairs Record Group 10, Western (Black) Series, Volume 3628, File 6244-1).

In the 1884 Amendment, John A. Macdonald stated that the Potlatch celebrated “debauchery of the worst kind.” Colonists refused to understand or accept different Indigenous customs and protocols which countered  European ideologies that prized capitalism, personal wealth and property, and individual liberty. The nature of reciprocity, redistribution of wealth, and collective community care characteristic in the Potlatch and other Indigneous customs challenged colonist's worldviews.     

Indian Agents

In 1884, another Indian Act amendment permitted Indian Agents, acting as justices of the peace, to conduct trials whenever they thought necessary, to “any other matter affecting Indians.” Within the same amendment, Indian Agents were granted judicial authority which gave them the ability to lodge a complaint with the police, AND direct the prosecution, while acting as the presiding judge. Indigenous peoples were thoroughly excluded, alienated, and targeted by the judicial process, Canadian Laws prevented them from seeking legal counsel, representation, or lodging complaints. Indian Agents wielded authoritarian power in Indigenous communities and laws prohibited Indigenous people from taking any form of recourse.   

Sale of Goods

On the proposed 1884 amendments to the Indian Act, Prime Minister John A. MacDonald stated that:

“The Government have found they can get along very well with the Indians, if the Indians are let alone; but we have had on several occasions much trouble in consequence of the acts of whiskey dealers, smugglers and other parties…”

MacDonald's concern over the Sale of Ammunition to First Nations and Métis in the West was because Canada's Dominion government feared an organized resistance to their colonial occupation of Indigenous lands and peoples. The North West Mounted Police were initially responsible for controlling the sale of ammunition, but the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway brought with it further access to firearms. 

Another politician expressed concern that it placed serious impediment to First Nations if they could not freely sell the fruits of their labour, and that they did not have the same liberty to sell as other persons in the communities. The Prime Minister replied that there was no clause for increased liberty in the proposed amendment, that First Nations maintained the right to sell under the consent of the local Indian agents, but that it was necessary that the Indian Agent maintain total control over the ability to buy and sell.