The legal status of the Inuit of Northern Québec and Canada as a whole was not clear. Were they simply Canadian citizens or were they wards of the federal government like First Nations
First Nations
A term that came into common usage in the 1970s to replace the word “Indian,” which some people found offensive. Among its uses, the term refers to the Status, Non-Status and Treaty Indians of Canada. Some Aboriginal peoples have replaced the word “Band” in the name of their community with the term “First Nation,” respecting their distinct language, culture, heritage and systems of knowledge. Although “First Nation” is widely used, it has no legal definition.
Thus, a person might say that they’re from the Naskapi First Nation of Kawawachikamach, or the Atikamekw First Nation of Manawan, or the Mohawk First Nation of Akwesasne, etc., identifying both the nation to which they belong and their place of origin or residence.
people? In 1939, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the federal government indeed had exclusive legislative jurisdiction for the Inuit. The Court held that the expression “Indians
Indians
The term Indian is still used legally to refer to people with Indian status under the Indian Act, which is still in force in Canada. However, it is considered outdated and should be replaced with First Nation or member of a First Nation.
and lands reserved for the Indians” in the Canadian Constitution of 1876 included the Inuit. However, as of 1950, the Inuit would be explicitly excluded from the application of the Indian Act, which is why, unlike First Nations
Nations
A group sharing a common culture, history and language.
people living on reserve, the Inuit pay consumer and income tax. The federal government granted the Inuit the right to vote in 1950, whereas First Nations people had to wait another 10 years to receive the same right.
The status of the Inuit of Northern Québec differed even more from that of First Nations following the signing of the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement (JBNQA), the first modern-day land treaty
treaty
A very old, yet modern way of establishing peaceful relations between peoples and nations.
In Canada, there are two types of treaties with Indigenous peoples: peace and friendship treaties, and land treaties, i.e., those specifically dealing with land and land titles.
The government’s objective with land treaties was to remove obstacles to colonization and to encourage First Nations members to abandon their lands and lifestyles and assimilate.
, in 1975. The Inuit signatories chose to be subject to the laws of Québec and governed by municipal administrations. The JBNQA, which will be discussed in Chapter 5, led to the creation of 14 Inuit municipalities represented by a public corporation known as the Kativik Regional Government.
The Indian Act does not apply to the Inuit in any way. A group of people from the Inuit community of Puvirnituq photographed in 1975-76 during an information session on the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. From left to right, Markusi Qalingo, Nellie Nungak, Alacie Alasuak and Winnie Tulugak.
Photo credit: Gérald McKenzie
It is important to mention that while being excluded from the Indian Act, the Inuit were still a target of the federal government policy of assimilation
assimilation
Assimilation involves actions aimed at making one group similar to another. When supported by policy, assimilation often becomes a forced process. For Canada’s Aboriginal peoples, such policies sought to eliminate certain groups by compelling them to adopt the dominant culture or way of life. However, assimilation can also occur naturally through the inherent pressures of the dominant society.
. In 2013, when many Inuit testified at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s public hearings in Montréal, Quebecers learned that Inuit children had also been placed in Indian residential schools and were the victims of the same prejudices: they were forbidden to speak their native language and punished if they did, their culture was disparaged, they suffered physical and sexual abuse, and so forth.
