21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality
- Downloads：9163
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-31 12:51:02
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Bob Joseph
- ISBN：0995266522
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Summary
Based on a viral article， 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act is the essential guide to understanding the legal document and its repercussion on generations of Indigenous Peoples， written by a leading cultural sensitivity trainer。
Since its creation in 1876， the Indian Act has shaped， controlled， and constrained the lives and opportunities of Indigenous Peoples， and is at the root of many enduring stereotypes。 Bob Joseph’s book comes at a key time in the reconciliation process， when awareness from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities is at a crescendo。 Joseph explains how Indigenous Peoples can step out from under the Indian Act and return to self-government， self-determination， and self-reliance—and why doing so would result in a better country for every Canadian。 He dissects the complex issues around truth and reconciliation， and clearly demonstrates why learning about the Indian Act’s cruel， enduring legacy is essential for the country to move toward true reconciliation。
Since its creation in 1876， the Indian Act has shaped， controlled， and constrained the lives and opportunities of Indigenous Peoples， and is at the root of many enduring stereotypes。 Bob Joseph’s book comes at a key time in the reconciliation process， when awareness from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities is at a crescendo。 Joseph explains how Indigenous Peoples can step out from under the Indian Act and return to self-government， self-determination， and self-reliance—and why doing so would result in a better country for every Canadian。 He dissects the complex issues around truth and reconciliation， and clearly demonstrates why learning about the Indian Act’s cruel， enduring legacy is essential for the country to move toward true reconciliation。
Reviews
Liv CG
，
3。5 stars
Julia
，
A good introduction- I learned some stuff！ But I would liked to have seen the book grapple with the history， complexity and context of the act in deeper detail。
Kathy
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This is a must read for every Canadian。 Although a bit legalese sometimes you will begin to understand why cultural genocide is exactly what Canada did to the Indigenous peoples。 You can understand that all the tragedies and challenges for this distinct society stem from that injustice。
Bikesnwine
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Skipped the last bit of the book because it was more resources and teaching modules but the first half of the book has some great information on the Indian Act。
Ainslee
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I’m never sure how to rate non-fiction， as I’m not a voracious non-fiction reader for the sake of reading non-fiction。 What I will say about this book is that it’s wonderfully informative， written with passion， clear and to the point， and offers a rebuttal to the history of the Indian Act with calls to action of what we can do now。 So for me， that’s a five star read。 I highly recommend！
Marlies
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This book provided a lot of clarity for me， especially as someone living in Treaty Seven territory。 Lots of reconciliation work to do。
Avery
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Five complete stars！ This is my first five star read in a long， long time and rightly so。 "In Kwak'wala we have the term "i'tusto，" which means "to rise again。" Getting rid of the Indian Act will give First Nations， and Canada the nation state， the opportunity to rise again to be better and to be stronger" （Introduction）This is a read that I think all Canadians should be required to go through。 It is brief， but informative。 It taught me a ton about Indigenous Peoples and what I can do to champio Five complete stars！ This is my first five star read in a long， long time and rightly so。 "In Kwak'wala we have the term "i'tusto，" which means "to rise again。" Getting rid of the Indian Act will give First Nations， and Canada the nation state， the opportunity to rise again to be better and to be stronger" （Introduction）This is a read that I think all Canadians should be required to go through。 It is brief， but informative。 It taught me a ton about Indigenous Peoples and what I can do to champion them in all aspects of life。 One of my favourites lines was one on language: "In oral societies， when the words are gone， so are the histories， the value systems， the spiritual， ecological knowledge， the worldviews， the stores and the songs。 It is an irreplaceable loss。 The loss of a language severs the connection between a people and their culture" （pg。 67）As someone who is an english major， I can't imagine how it must be like to be stripped of language。 Language to me is identity and this quote highlights this perfectly。 This is one of many cruelties our government has dealt to the Indigenous。 This book shows the past， but it also presents a guide to our future， one of reconciliation and hope。 I highly recommend giving this short little book a read。 You won't regret it。 。。。more
Emily Princi
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Quick read and would recommend if you want to educate yourself more about indigenous people。
Kim Spencer
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A must-read for every Canadian （however， have to say， the ending felt abrupt）。
Carla Cameron
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A must for all educators！
Ren （A Bookish Balance）
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4。5/5 stars
Lori Emilson
，
Extremely interesting and enlightening。
Derek Mitchell
，
I honestly didn’t think this book would have the emotional impact it did。 Hearing the hurtful words from leaders in our country’s infancy， combined with the historical details。。。It was hard to read。 But so very needed。 The goal， as the book contends， is to get to self-governance。 But I found myself asking: “self-governance” under whose definition？ From its infancy， governance in Canada has， both overtly and in subtext， been a predominantly Christian， predominantly male， and predominantly white f I honestly didn’t think this book would have the emotional impact it did。 Hearing the hurtful words from leaders in our country’s infancy， combined with the historical details。。。It was hard to read。 But so very needed。 The goal， as the book contends， is to get to self-governance。 But I found myself asking: “self-governance” under whose definition？ From its infancy， governance in Canada has， both overtly and in subtext， been a predominantly Christian， predominantly male， and predominantly white framework for governance - has this not tainted First Nations？ Will they not face barriers in attaining the same provincial and federal funding that more euro-centric municipalities/territories attain？ Does dismantling the Act also remove the federal governments formal responsibility to continue to support and make amends for systematic limitations （even cultural genocide） that was put in place during the 145 years the Indian Act had been in place？ Joseph’s book forces these questions and I find myself， armed with a little more knowledge， being wrapped further in the complexity of the issue。 。。。more
Raymond Frizzell
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Where to begin。 The topic is so important， and hearing the problems of the act from someone who has first hand experience is vital to understanding the problem and reconciliation。 My issue with the book is format， a list that at times is too short， and other times feels like it’s writing a different book。 The last issue is some of his points get lost because of a rose coloured glass effect of indigenous peoples before European contact。 We can not believe any race of people are all good， and that Where to begin。 The topic is so important， and hearing the problems of the act from someone who has first hand experience is vital to understanding the problem and reconciliation。 My issue with the book is format， a list that at times is too short， and other times feels like it’s writing a different book。 The last issue is some of his points get lost because of a rose coloured glass effect of indigenous peoples before European contact。 We can not believe any race of people are all good， and that no disagreements ever existed within groups， but at times he paints that picture， thankfully not often。 Do not get me wrong people need to understand the horrors that have occurred to indigenous Canadians， I just felt this could have been done better。 。。。more
Sarah Cook
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I listened to this as an audio book。 It was a great summary of the Indian Act。 Took away a lot of new learning points。
Peyton
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This book is a great introduction to the Indian Act。 It is a great starter for people who want to learn， but not get bogged down by too much political jargon。 I liked that Joseph provided thoughts and opinions at the end of the book on the future of the Indian Act and what could be done to make Canada better and more inclusive。 An important book and an accessible read。
Laurel Nikiforuk
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Listened to the audio version but will give it a reread to really absorb all the content。
Dana
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Easy but important read - very informative！
John
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Indispensable resource for learning about the treatment of indigenous people in Canada。 Extremely clear and concise， pulls no punches。
Xylia
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Recommended reading for every Canadian！I learned about quite a few of the bigger points （i。e。， enfranchisement， land issues， residential schools， etc。） of the Indian Act throughout university， but learning of the smaller details makes the Indian Act that much more insidious and （frankly） fucked up。
Isabella （Stubbornly Bookish）
，
This was super informative in a bite sized book。 I found this incredibly valuable。 This needs to be taught in schools。
Laura
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While I had heard of the Indian Act， I didn't know much about it until I took University of Albert's "Indigenous Canada" course （offered through Coursera）。 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act was an excellent follow-up to the material in the course。 Bob Joseph's commentary gives context and an Indigenous perspective on the Act。 While the subject matter is not "fun"， Joseph's writing style is。 There is often an undertone of "Can you believe the absurdity of all of this？！" While I had heard of the Indian Act， I didn't know much about it until I took University of Albert's "Indigenous Canada" course （offered through Coursera）。 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act was an excellent follow-up to the material in the course。 Bob Joseph's commentary gives context and an Indigenous perspective on the Act。 While the subject matter is not "fun"， Joseph's writing style is。 There is often an undertone of "Can you believe the absurdity of all of this？！" 。。。more
Olivia Law
，
ABSOLUTELY。 ESSENTIAL。 READING。
Tasha
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I'm sure I'm just one of many who think that this book should be required reading in Canadian schools。 Joseph doesn't just explain what a particular section of the Indian Act means， he goes into detail of how it was formed， amended， etc。， and which cultural events took place for the white Canadian government to warrant each section。 He goes into detail about the residential school system and the abuses faced within， lists the 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission， and hel I'm sure I'm just one of many who think that this book should be required reading in Canadian schools。 Joseph doesn't just explain what a particular section of the Indian Act means， he goes into detail of how it was formed， amended， etc。， and which cultural events took place for the white Canadian government to warrant each section。 He goes into detail about the residential school system and the abuses faced within， lists the 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission， and helps us to understand how intergenerational trauma has been passed down in Indigenous families and communities since the first residential school was opened。 I'd recommend this one to anyone who wants to expand their education on the residential schools， the Indian Act， or Canada's historical and ongoing treatment of Indigenous people in general。 。。。more
ashley
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read and used this for my indigenous studies final and i got a 90 if that doesnt say it isnt a good book idk what does
Nicole Sweetnam
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Every Canadian should listen to this book。 It should be required reading for all high school students in Canada。 As a settler Canadian of British decent， knowing more about the insidious legacy of residential schools affirms my commitment to doing better and to be better。 Ending the book with the 94 T&R recommendations was a call to action。
Emily Hean
，
I think this is such an important read for any and all canadians， and I learned a lot from this book。 That being said， I found the narrator's voice to be too monotone， with very little intonation to imply punctuation， asides， etc。 I also felt like the book was too fact-heavy -- I would have liked more anecdotal stories to go alongside the different parts of the Indian Act in order to gain an emotional understanding of the way the Act deeply affected the lives of so many indigenous people。 The st I think this is such an important read for any and all canadians， and I learned a lot from this book。 That being said， I found the narrator's voice to be too monotone， with very little intonation to imply punctuation， asides， etc。 I also felt like the book was too fact-heavy -- I would have liked more anecdotal stories to go alongside the different parts of the Indian Act in order to gain an emotional understanding of the way the Act deeply affected the lives of so many indigenous people。 The statistics are disturbing， but numbers aren't as easy to comprehend （for me， at least） as real human stories。 。。。more
Kristi
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Actual rating 4。5
Brandon Forsyth
，
This book wasn’t exactly what I thought it was， but it’s a short， powerful read on the context about how we got here， and that’s a valuable and necessary thing。 Perhaps the best examination I’ve read of one of Canada’s most obvious pieces of systemic racism。 Let’s tear it down。
Jess
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