Indian reserve
Encyclopedia
- The term Indian in this article refers to Aboriginal people of CanadaFirst NationsFirst Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
; not to be confused with South Asians from Indian subcontinentIndian subcontinentThe Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
.
In Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, an Indian reserve (usually capitalized as Indian Reserve) is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not vested in the Crown (for example, Wikwemikong Unceded Reserve on Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island is a Canadian island in Lake Huron, in the province of Ontario. It is the largest island in a freshwater lake in the world. In addition to the historic Anishinaabe and European settlement of the island, archeological discoveries at Sheguiandah have demonstrated Paleo-Indian and...
) is also subject to the Indian Act provisions governing reserves. Superficially a reserve is similar to an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Indian reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
, although the histories of the development of reserves and reservations are markedly different. Although the American term reservation is occasionally used, reserve is normally the standard term in Canada.
The terms Native reserve, First Nations reserve and First Nation are also widely used instead of Indian reserve. Strictly speaking, however First Nation more properly designates a band government and/or the group of people it represents, which may commonly occupy more than one reserve. For example, the Munsee-Delaware Nation
Munsee-Delaware Nation 1, Ontario
The Munsee-Delaware Nation No. 1 is an Indian reserve on the Thames River, west of St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, and belongs to the Munsee-Delaware First Nation...
in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
is only one of three reserves in Western Ontario occupied by members of the Munsee-Delaware
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
First Nation. In all, there are over 600 occupied reserves in Canada, most of them quite small in area. Some reserves are shared by multiple bands, whether as fishing camps or educational facilities such as Peckquaylis.
The Indian Act gives the Minister of Indian Affairs
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (Canada)
The Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who heads two different departments...
the right to "determine whether any purpose for which lands in a reserve are used is for the use and benefit of the band." Title to land within the reserve may only be transferred to the band or to individual band members. Reserve lands may not be seized legally, nor is the personal property of a band or a band member living on a reserve subject to "charge, pledge, mortgage, attachment, levy, seizure distress or execution in favour or at the instance of any person other than an Indian or a band" (section 89 (1) of the Indian Act). While the act was intended to protect the Indian holdings, the limitations make it difficult for the reserves and their residents to obtain financing for development and construction, or renovation. To answer this need, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is a Crown corporation, owned by the Government of Canada, founded after World War II to provide housing for returning soldiers...
(CMHC) has created an on-reserve housing loan program. Members of bands may enter into a trust agreement with CMHC, and lenders can receive loans to build or repair houses. In other programs, loans to residents of reserves are guaranteed by the federal government.
Provinces and municipalities may expropriate reserve land only if specifically authorized by a provincial or federal law. Few reserves have any economic advantages, such as resource revenues. The revenues of those reserves which do, are held in trust by the Minister of Indian Affairs. Reserve lands and the personal property of bands and resident band members are exempt from all forms of taxation except local taxation.
Corporations owned by members of First Nations are not exempt, however. This exemption has allowed band members operating in proprietorships or partnerships to sell heavily taxed goods, such as cigarettes, on their reserves at prices considerably lower than those at stores off the reserves. Most reserves are self-governed, within the limits already described, under guidelines established by the Indian Act.
Due to treaty settlements, some Indian Reserves are now incorporated as Villages, such as New Aiyansh, British Columbia, which like other Nisga'a
Nisga'a
The Nisga’a , often formerly spelled Nishga and spelled in the Nisga’a language as Nisga’a, are an Indigenous nation or First Nation in Canada. They live in the Nass River valley of northwestern British Columbia. Their name comes from a combination of two Nisga’a words: Nisk’-"top lip" and...
reserves was relieved of that status by the Nisga'a Treaty. Similarly, the Indian Reserves of the Sechelt Indian Band
Sechelt Indian Band
The Sechelt Indian Band is a First Nations band government located in the southern Sunshine Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. They were an early signatory with the BC government on land claims, and today their former Indian Reserves are now the Sechelt Indian Government District, which has...
are now Indian Government Districts.
See also
- List of Indian reserves in Canada
- List of Indian reserves in Canada by population