Federal Governance

In the 1960s, disparities between Indigenous welfare expenditures and settler welfare expenditures were significant, with spending on the former outweighing the latter. As a result, the government saw a need to counter the growing welfare expenditures. Walter Rudnicki pitched a community development program to cabinet which called on provinces to partially assume the expenses of health and welfare transfer payments. This proposal also vaguely focused on increased self-sufficiency for Indigenous peoples, although no concrete steps were outlined. Cabinet approved the program on May 28, 1964.

Many students experienced sexual abuse at the hands of school faculty, local clergy members, lay persons from the local community, and other students. Some victims of sexual assault in Residential Schools have remained silent about their experiences for multiple reasons, including shame, fear of disbelief, and symptoms of psychological trauma that are harmful to retell to the survivors. However, given the number of survivors who have reported sexual assault, and the extensive research already collected on the conditions of Residential schools, it is inarguable that sexual violence was widespread throughout the institutions, having immediate and long-term effect on Indigenous peoples and their communities. This is affirmed by Mel H. Buffalo, an adviser to the Samson band in Alberta, who says that "every Indian person I have spoken to who attended these schools has a story of mental, physical or sexual abuse.". Several incidents of sexual abuse and neglect occurred under Principle McWhinney at the Crowstand IRS. Following incidents of abuse in 1914, D. C. Scott, Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs, instructed that female students be sent home. It was deemed the institution was no longer safe to continue mixed education of boys and girls.

By the early 1890s Rev. Thomas Clarke was receiving criticism for his mismanagement of students and school staff, particularly women. He was also criticized for his lack of fiscal responsibility. Indian affairs found Clarke to be "dictatorial", and his management style caused as much trouble with the staff as it did with the local Indigenous communities from whom students originated. Hayter Reed reported that the students were not being sufficiently disciplined nor advancing appropriately in their English-speaking skills. The Anglican church, particularly the Archbishop of Saskatchewan and Calgary, were of the opinion that the school was inadequate in its religious instruction. Coupled with alcoholism, these issues led to Clarke being fired form the position of principle in 1894.

The last Indian Agent was removed from his post in 1969 as the program was phased out.

Written by Chief Joseph Dreaver of Mistawasis, this report surveyed 67 bands in Saskatchewan and called for band control and administration of land. In response, L.L Brown suggested that there was a necessity for bands to accept Euro-Canadian land divisions if they wished to integrate into Canadian society.

The Saskatchewan legislature unanimously passed a resolution in 1961 to request that Ottawa transfer complete control over Indian Affairs administration to any province that wanted it. Premier Douglas suggested implementing a 25-year transition period for the transfer of power. Ottawa rejected the request from Saskatchewan.

The second federal Joint Parliamentary Committee on Indian Affairs began hearings in 1959 and concluded with the presentation of their report on July 8, 1961. The main tone of this report and its recommendations was the inclusion of Aboriginal people within pluralistic Canadian society and their rights of citizenship, pushing towards full citizenship rights and the removal of special status. The Saskachewan government's brief to the Committee was devoted to suggestions to ease and facilitate the process of integration. The discussion of traditional Indigenous culture was cast almost entirely in terms of how it handicapped Aboriginals who were trying to "get ahead" in modern society. "Traditional" Aboriginals were described as permissive in their child-rearing practices, averse to established routines, lacking in reliability and punctuality, and given to sharing, rather than accumulating, wealth. The brief's message was clear - to succeed in Western society, First Nations people would have to be the ones to adapt.

The Department of National Health and Welfare decided to supply specific foods, rather than direct payment of funding to First Nations peoples and Inuit who were already receiving Family Allowances.  The federal government felt that those on Family Allowance would be 'irresponsible' with their allowance; Instead, the government regulated the distribution of goods so that family allowances could only be used for particular foods.  This prohibited Indigenous families from purchasing other necessary items and took a paternalistic view that assumed Indigenous guardians were not capable of caring for their families. Additionally, food insecurity was only exacerbated by the changes in access to game. mobility restriction on and off reserves, and environmental degradation due to resource development/extraction that came as a result of westward settlement.

This document was the government’s first “unified ‘policy manual’” relating to welfare and relief assistance for First Nations people. It continued to stand behind the policies that had been put in place and continued since 1915. The document focused on the required degrees of support to encourage self-sufficiency, and its relationship to administration of relief.

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.