Social Chapter 4: Collective Rights (copy)

Key Definitions

• Affirm: To assert or confirm the validity of something.

• Collective Identity: The shared identity of a group, shaped by common characteristics, experiences, and culture.

• Collective Rights: Rights held by a group rather than by individuals, often recognized in Indigenous contexts. Only given to groups who contributed to the Confederation of Canada.

• First Nations: Indigenous peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis; they have distinct rights and cultures.

• Indian: A term historically used to refer to Indigenous peoples in North America.

• Law: A system of rules created and enforced through social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior.

• Sovereignty: The authority of a state to govern itself and make decisions independently.

• Annuity: A fixed sum of money paid to indigenous people each year; written in the treaties

• Reserve: Land set aside by the government for the use of Indigenous peoples, often subject to specific regulations and limitations.

• Entrenching: The act of incorporating rights into a constitution or legal framework to secure their permanence.

• Patriate: to give something to the country it belongs to.

• Policy: A principle or course of action according to.

• Assimilate: The process in which a minority group adopts the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture.

• Ethnocentrism: The belief that one’s own culture is superior to others.

• Eurocentrism: A worldview that centers European culture and its values as the dominant influence in the interpretation of history and culture.

• Indian Act (1876): A Canadian law that governs in matters pertaining to Indian status, local governments, and the management of reserve land.

• Anglophone: A person whose first language is English.

• Francophone: A person whose first language is French.

• Autonomy: The right or condition of self-government, particularly in relation to Indigenous groups.

• Official Language Community: Groups that speak one of Canada’s two official languages (English or French).

• Official Language Minority: A community in Canada that speaks one of the official languages but is in the minority within a province or territory.

• Publicly Funded: paid for by the government, using taxes.

• Scrip: A document that could be exchanged for land or money, historically used in negotiations with Indigenous peoples.

• Indoctrinate: To teach someone to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.

• Indian Agent: A government representative responsible for overseeing Indigenous communities and affairs, often seen as a facilitator of government policy

• Métis Rights: Rights recognized for the Métis people, encompassing land, cultural, and political rights as a distinct Indigenous group in Canada.

  Numbered Treaties

• What are Numbered Treaties?: Treaties signed between the Canadian government and Indigenous peoples, numbered sequentially to establish land rights and resource sharing.

• Government's Perspective and Reasoning: The government aimed to promote settlement, access to resources, and peace with Indigenous populations while asserting control over land and encouraging assimilation policies

• Law vs. Policy: Laws are formal regulations enforced by the government, while policies are guidelines that direct decision-making and actions but do not have the same legal status.