Indian reserve

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Template:Infobox subdivision type Template:Indigenous Peoples of Canada In Canada, an Indian reserve (Template:Langx)Template:Refn or First Nations reserve (Template:Langx) is defined by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band."Template:Sfn Reserves are areas set aside for First Nations, one of the major groupings of Indigenous peoples in Canada, after a contract with the Canadian state ("the Crown"), and are not to be confused with Indigenous peoples' claims to ancestral lands under Aboriginal title.

Demographics

Canada has designated 3,394 reserves for over 600 First Nations, as per the federal publication "Registered Indian Population by Sex and Residence, Indian Status is granted to members of a registered band who are eligible to live on these reserves. By 2020, reserves provided shelter for approximately half of these band members.<ref name="e016">Template:Cite web</ref>

Many reserves have no resident population, such as the Kainai Nation (Blood) which has Blood 148 (population 4,572 at the 2021 census), and Blood 148A (population 0 at the 2021 census).<ref>Template:FNINAC, Template:FNINAC</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Typically they are small, remote, non-contiguous pieces of land, a fact which has led many to be abandoned, or used only seasonally (as a trapping territory, for example). Statistics Canada counts only those reserves which are populated (or potentially populated) as "subdivisions" for the purpose of the national census.

At the 2021 Canadian census there were over 3,200 reserves across the country. Of these, 992 were census subdivisions, including 73 that had been added and 28 that had been removed since the 2016 census.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some reserves that were originally rural were gradually surrounded by urban development. Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary are examples of cities with urban Indian reserves.

Governance

Band governments may administer more than one reserve, such as the Beaver First Nation with two reserves, Boyer 164 and Child Lake 164A,<ref>Template:FNINAC, Template:FNINAC</ref> or the Membertou First Nation, with Caribou Marsh 29, Sydney 28A, and Membertou 28B.<ref>Template:FNINAC, Template:FNINAC</ref>

Some reserves are shared by multiple bands, whether as fishing camps or educational facilities such as Pekw'Xe:yles, a reserve on the Fraser River used by 21 bands.<ref>Template:BCGNIS</ref><ref>Template:FNINAC</ref> Another multi-band reserve of the Stó꞉lō peoples is Grass Indian Reserve No. 15, which is located in Chilliwack and is shared by nine bands.<ref>Template:FNINAC</ref>

History

Treaties and reserves, 1763–1867

After the Royal Proclamation of 1763 but before Confederation in 1867, the Upper Canada Treaties (1764–1862 Ontario) and the Douglas Treaties (1850–1854 British Columbia) were signed. "Some of these pre-confederation and post-confederation treaties addressed reserve lands, hunting, fishing, trapping rights, annuities and other benefits."Template:Sfn Governor James Douglas of the Colony of British Columbia, which formally became a colony in 1858, also worked to establish many reserves on the mainland during his tenure, though most of these were overturned by successor colonial governments and later royal commissions once the province joined Confederation in 1871.

Constitution Act 1867

In 1867, legislative jurisdiction over "Indians and Lands reserved for the Indians" was assigned to the Parliament of Canada through the Constitution Act, 1867,Template:Sfn a major part of Canada's Constitution (originally known as the British North America Act), which acknowledged that First Nations had special status. Separate powers covered "status and civil rights on the one hand and Indian lands on the other."Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

In 1870, the newly formed Dominion government acquired Rupert's Land, a vast territory in British North America consisting mostly of the Hudson Bay drainage basin that had been controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company under its charter with the British Crown from 1670 to 1870. Numerous aboriginal groups lived in the same territory and disputed the sovereignty of the area. The Dominion of Canada promised Britain to honour the provisions of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 to "negotiate with its Amerindians for the extinguishment of their title and the setting aside of reserves for their exclusive use."Template:Citation needed This promise led to the Numbered Treaties.Template:Sfn

Numbered treaties, 1871–1921

Between 1871 and 1921, through Numbered Treaties with First Nations, the Canadian government gained large areas of land for settlers and for industry in Northwestern Ontario, Northern Canada and in the Prairies. The treaties were also called the Land Cession or Post-Confederation Treaties.Template:Sfn Treaty 1 is an agreement established 3 August 1871, between the Crown and various First Nations in southeastern Manitoba, including the Anishinaabe and the Swampy Cree tribes. Treaty 1 First Nations comprise the Brokenhead Ojibway, Fort Alexander (Sagkeeng), Long Plain, Peguis, Roseau River Anishinabe, Sandy Bay, and Swan Lake First Nations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Indian Act 1876

The rights and freedoms of Canada's First Nations people have been governed by the Indian Act since its enactment in 1876Template:Sfn by the Parliament of Canada. The provisions of Section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867, provided Canada's federal government exclusive authority to legislate in relation to "Indians and Lands Reserved for Indians".Template:Sfn

Wikwemikong Unceded Reserve on Manitoulin Island is subject to the Indian Act provisions governing reserves even though its lands were never ceded to the Crown by treaty.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Indian Act

The Indian Act gives the Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs the right to "determine whether any purpose for which lands in a reserve are used is for the use and benefit of the band."Template:Sfn Title to land within the reserve may be transferred to only the band or to individual band members. Reserve lands may not be seized legally, nor is the personal property of a band or a band member living on a reserve subject to "charge, pledge, mortgage, attachment, levy, seizure distress or execution in favour or at the instance of any person other than an Indian or a band".Template:Sfn

Housing loans

While the act was intended to protect the Indian holdings, the limitations make it difficult for the reserves and their residents to obtain financing for development and construction, or renovation. To answer this need, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has created an on-reserve housing loan program. Members of bands may enter into a trust agreement with CMHC, and lenders can receive loans to build or repair houses. In other programs, loans to residents of reserves are guaranteed by the federal government.

Provinces and municipalities may expropriate reserve land if specifically authorized by a provincial or federal law. Few reserves have any economic advantages, such as resource revenues. The revenues of those reserves that do are held in trust by the minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Reserve lands and the personal property of bands and resident band members are exempt from all forms of taxation except local taxation.

Corporations owned by members of First Nations are not exempt, however. This exemption has allowed band members operating in proprietorships or partnerships to sell heavily taxed goods, such as cigarettes, on their reserves at prices considerably lower than those at stores off the reserves. Most reserves are self-governed, within the limits already described, under guidelines established by the Indian Act.

Due to treaty settlements, some Indian reserves are now incorporated as villages, such as Gitlaxt'aamiks, British Columbia, which like other Nisga'a reserves was relieved of that status by the Nisga'a Treaty. Similarly, the Indian reserves of the shíshálh Nation are now Indian government districts, the shíshálh Nation Government District.

Public policy

Indian reserves play a very important role in public policy stakeholder consultations, particularly when reserves are located in areas that have valuable natural resources with potential for economic development. Beginning in the 1970s, First Nations gained "recognition of their constitutionally protected rights."Template:Sfn First Nations' rights are protected by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. By 2002, (Valiente) First Nations had already "finalised 14 comprehensive land claims and self-government agreements, with numerous others, primarily in northern Canada and British Columbia, at different stages of negotiations." Land claims and self-government agreements are "modern treaties" and therefore hold constitutional status.

CEPA 1999

The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), "places aboriginal participation on par with federal ministers and the provinces in the National Advisory Committee."Template:Sfn Among other things, CEPA clarified the term "aboriginal land" in 3 (1): "The definitions in this subsection apply in this Act. "aboriginal land" means (a) reserves, surrendered lands and any other lands that are set apart for the use and benefit of a band and that are subject to the Indian Act."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Under sections 46–50 of the CEPA, the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) was initiated by Environment and Climate Change Canada. NPRI is the inventory of "pollutants released, disposed of and sent for recycling by facilities across the country".Template:Sfn The NPRI is used by First Nation administrations on reserves, along with other research tools, to monitor pollution. For example, NPRI data showed the Aamjiwnaang First Nation in Sarnia, Ontario, was "ground zero for Ontario's heaviest load of air pollution."Template:Sfn

Water quality

Template:Main By 21 December 2017, there were 67 long-term boil-water advisories that had been in effect for longer than a year.<ref name="CTV_Aiello" /> These are "public water systems managed by the federal government".<ref name="CTV_Aiello">Template:Cite news</ref> There were also 18 communities that had "water issues for between two and 12 months."<ref name="CTV_Aiello" />

According to statistics gathered by Health Canada and the First Nations Health Authority, in 2015, there were "162 drinking water advisories in 118 First Nation communities".<ref name="canadians_water_crisis">Template:Cite web</ref> In October 2015, Neskantaga First Nation reported that its "20-year boil-water advisory" was "the longest running drinking water advisory in Canada."<ref name="canadians_water_crisis" /> Shoal Lake 40 First Nation was under an 18-year boil water advisory.<ref name="canadians_water_crisis" />

By 2006,Template:Sfn nearly 100 Indian reserves had boil-water advisories and many others had substandard water. Ḵwiḵwa̱sut'inux̱w Ha̱xwa'mis First Nation, on Vancouver Island, had a boil-water advisory beginning in 1997.Template:Sfn In October 2005, "high E. coli levels were found in the Kashechewan First Nation reserve's drinking water and chlorine levels had to be increased to 'shock' levels, causing skin problems and eventually resulting in an evacuation of hundreds of people from the reserve and costing approximately $16 million."Template:Sfn

See also

Notes and references

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Citations

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General references

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Further reading

  • Template:Cite report This series provides data on individual reserves including population by Aboriginal identity, immigrant population, educational attainment, labour, income and housing. In the documents footnote it was pointed out that, "[r]espondents self-identified as 'First Nations (North American Indian)' on the NHS questionnaire; however, the term 'First Nations people' is used throughout this document." In the document, "term 'Aboriginal identity' refers to whether the person reported being an Aboriginal person, that is, First Nations (North American Indian), Métis or Inuk (Inuit) and/or being a Registered or Treaty Indian, (that is, registered under the Indian Act of Canada) and/or being a member of a First Nation or Indian band. Aboriginal peoples of Canada are defined in the Constitution Act, 1982, section 35 (2) as including the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada."

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