Author Description

This paper surveys the history of federal and provincial laws discriminating against aboriginal people. It focuses primarily on Indians and the federal Indian Act, but also addresses federal and provincial homestead and franchise laws. It reviews the history of federal and provincial denial of the right to vote; federal interference with indigenous systems of self-government; federal and provincial restrictions on Indian property rights; federal restrictions on the sale of agricultural products; and special legal disabilities in the area of wills and estates. It also reviews federal policy on Indian status and the resulting impact on cultural rights.