POL214Y5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Liberal Democracy, Constitution Act, 1982, 1969 White Paper
Document Summary
Before europeans came to the continent, most aboriginals functioned as nomadic hunters, while some. Aboriginal peoples were more permanent fishers, carvers, or farmers. Colonialism refers to establishing, acquiring, and maintaining colonies, a colony being a human settlement in one area of the world whose settlers are under the control of a government in some other part of the globe. One of the reasons to justify european colonialism was the principle of terra nullius, meaning that the territory was not previously subject to control by any other power. Under the indian act and its enforcement, aboriginal canadians suffered from untold discrimination and indignity at every turn. Reflecting colonial mentality, the indian act treated them like children and required bureaucratic approval for almost any band decision. The 1969 white paper on indians stated that aboriginal canadians should be treated exactly the same as other canadians and that reserves should be dismantled and treaties and the indian act should be repealed.
