January 1, 1900

Aboriginal people in Canada make up about 2% of the population. Since the beginning of European colonization, their numbers have been radically reduced - in most part by the many infectious diseases brought by white settlers.

Aboriginal people are governed by the Dominion government under the Indian Act , which was first passed in 1876. The Act created Indian reserves, and provided for special Indian status for aboriginal people. Self-government does not generally exist.

The management and control of Indian lands and property is vested with the federal superintendent general of Indian Affairs.

The Indian Act is part of a policy to both protect Aboriginal people from white culture, and to promote their assimilation into white culture. Indian celebrations such as the Potlatch and various traditional dances and customs such as the Sun Dance, are banned. (The Potlatch is a lavish aboriginal ceremony during which wealth is redistributed, and gifts are handed out. Guests feast and serve as witnesses to important events such as claiming a name, a wedding, funeral, or marriage.) Aboriginal people are forbidden to possess alcohol outside of a reserve.

Part of that policy are the 64 residential boarding schools, which remove Aboriginal children from their families in order to teach them European culture, traditions and religion. These schools are funded by the federal government and run by missionaries. The children are often forbidden to speak their native language. Discipline is harsh, often brutal, and physical abuse is commonplace. Aboriginal culture is treated as inferior.

Many Aboriginal communities are over-crowded, with inadequate housing, heating, sewage and medical care. Diseases such as tuberculosis are epidemic, and mortality rates among Aboriginal peoples are the highest in Canada. Aboriginal people cannot vote in British Columbia. This year, those living in B.C. will also lose the federal franchise.