(Redirected from Status Indian)The '
Indian Register' is the official record of ''Status Indians'' or ''Registered Indians'' in
Canada. Status Indians have rights and benefits that are not granted to unregistered Indians,
Inuit, or
Métis, perhaps the chief benefits being the granting of
reserves and of rights associated with them, including exemption from federal and provincial taxes for residents for work performed on reserve.
The list is maintained by the
Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Sole authority for determining who will be registered is vested in the post of Registrar.
In 1850 the colonial governments of
British North America began to keep records of Indians and bands entitled to benefits under
treaty. In 1951 the current Indian Register was established by amendment of the
Indian Act.
In 1985, the Indian Act was amended again with the goal of restoring Indian status to people who had lost it through discriminatory provisions of the Act, and to their children. Over 100,000 people who had lost their status in this way have since been added to the Register.
The discriminatory reasons for revoking status were:
★ marrying a man who was not a Status Indian
★
enfranchisement (until 1960, an Indian
could vote in federal elections only by renouncing Indian status)
★ having a mother and paternal grandmother who did not have status before marriage (these people lost status at 21)
★ being born out of wedlock of a mother with status and a father without.
See also
★
First Nations