The Indian Act revised or abolished?
I believe that the Indian Act should be abolished. I believe this because no one should be discriminated because of their colour, race, or beliefs. It is unfair to put the First Nations people on a reserve, just so that you can own the remaining land. It is also unfair to change peoples’ beliefs just because they are not like everyone else. Everyone should be treated as equals, because no one person is better than another.
In the text book Canada Revisited 8 on page 208 it read “the purpose of the Indian Act was to assimilate First Nations people into Euro- Canadian culture”. The text in quotes stated that the beliefs and culture of the First Nations were primitive, and had no place in society. This is absolutely unfair to the First Nations people because the Canadian government is discouraging them to follow their customs, cultures, and beliefs.
The Indian Act had made the First Nations people feel as if being themselves was not good enough for the Euro- Canadian people or the Canadian government. By being insolated from others I am sure that children had lost a lot of self esteem. The reason that I think this is because while children were not living on the reserve, they had probably made friends that were Euro- Canadian. It must have been awful to have to leave their homes and friends just because the looked and acted a different way.
It is not fair to judge people based on their colour, race, culture or beliefs. People are born naturally the way that god intended them to be, and every person is an equal, it does not matter whether you are light skinned or dark skinned. No one has as a say as to what they look like, regarding their race or colour. So how can anyone discriminate others because of that? Everyone has different strengths, and weaknesses. Being of a certain race is not a weakness, it is a blessing. Everyone is unique in his or her own way and no one should have to feel “ugly” because other people perceive them in a way that they have no control of.
In conclusion my opinion is that the Indian Act should be abolished. If this Act were abolished, the First Nations people live off reserves, interact with others, and gain back the respect that they should have received a long time ago. Everyone deserves respect from others, and the First Nations people are no different.