Opinion
A turning point on Indian status
By Robert Bertrand June 17, 2019
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People is clear that Indigenous peoples have the right to determine their own membership. The government must cease legislating Indigeneity.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured during the closing ceremony of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls on June 3, has touted reconciliation with Indigenous people as a priority for his government. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Canada stands at a crossroads in its relationship with Indigenous peoples. For over a century, the government has sought to define who is an “Indian” and to set the rules for membership in First Nations that predate its own existence through the Indian Act.
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