 Departments of the Government of Canada |
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|---|---|
| Indian and Northern Affairs | |
| Affaires indiennes et du Nord | |
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| Minister | Chuck Strahl |
| Established | 1966 |
| Responsibilities | First Nations
Nunavut Northwest Territories Yukon (external issues only) |
| Employees | 3500+ |
| Department Website | |
The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (FIP: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, French: Affaires indiennes et du Nord Canada, AINC) is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for policies relating to First Nations of Canada and Canada's three northern territories. The term "Indian" as referenced in the department's name refers to Status Indians defined by the Indian Act. The department is also responsible for the Inuit and Métis of Canada. The department is overseen by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, currently Chuck Strahl.
Contents |
History
Aboriginal Affairs
In 1755, the British Crown established the British Indian Department, and responsibility for Indian Affairs rested on the Superintendents of Indian Affairs from 1755 to 1841. After 1843, the Governors General held control of Indian Affairs, but usually delegated much of their responsibility to a series of Civil Secretaries. In 1860, the responsibility for Indian affairs was transferred from the government of Great Britain to the Province of Canada and the responsibility for Indian Affairs was given to the Crown Lands Department Commissions Responsible for Indian Affairs.
The federal government's legislative responsibilities for Indians and Inuit derive from section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867 and responsibility was given to the Secretary of State for the Provinces Responsible for Indian Affairs. In 1876, the Indian Act, which remains the major expression of federal jurisdiction in this area, was passed and a series of treaties[1] were concluded between Canada and the various Indian bands across the country. The responsibility for Indian Affairs and Northern Development rested with various government departments between 1873 and 1966. The minister of the Interior also held the position of Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs after the Indian Affairs Department was established in 1880. In 1939, federal jurisdiction for Indian peoples was interpreted by the courts to apply to the Inuit. A revised Indian Act was passed in 1951.
From 1950 to 1965, the Indian Affairs portfolio was carried by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. In Oct. 1, 1966, the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development was created as a result of the Government Organization Act, 1966.[2]
Northern Affairs
The Northern Affairs part of the department has its origins in the Department of the Interior, a body created by John A. Macdonald for the purpose of administering the Dominion Lands Act of 1872. When the Department of the Interior dissolved in 1936 (with the Natural Resources Transfer Acts returning sovereignty over their own natural resources to the Prairie provinces), Indian Affairs fell under the purview of the Department of Mines and Resources. However, the need for social and health-care services in the North led to the establishment of the Northern Administration and Lands branch in 1951, which led to the creation of the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources in 1953. This became the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in 1966, which remains the department's legal name today.[3] Under the Federal Identity Program, the department is known as Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.
Annual Arctic expeditions
Beginning in the early 20th century, the Canadian government sponsored annual expeditions to the Northern territories. These expeditions yielded extensive photographic documentation of the lives of Northern indigenous peoples by participating explorers, engineers, scientists and medical staff.
Explorer, photographer, filmmaker, writer and lecturer Richard S. Finnie accompanied numerous expeditions to the North. His first voyage was aboard CGS Arctic, under the command of Captain Bernier in 1924. During the 1930–1931 expedition to the Western Arctic, Finnie served as filmmaker. Lachlan T. Burwash, an exploratory engineer with the Department of the Interior, made a survey of the east coasts of Hudson Bay and James Bay, and the Belcher Islands in the late 1920s. Zoologist Joseph Dewey Soper travelled to the Baffin Island (Qikiqtaaluk) region in the late 1920s in order to document the landscape, as well as the plant and bird life. J.G. Wright, Superintendent of Eastern Arctic Patrol and National Film Board photographer, served on the 1945–1946 expedition sponsored by the Canadian Institute for the Blind. As the Regional Director of Family Allowances for the Yukon and Northwest Territories, S.J. Bailey served as part of the Eastern Arctic Patrol beginning in the late 1940s.
Department Mandate
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) is responsible fulfilling federal government obligations and commitments to First Nations, Inuit and Métis, and for fulfilling the federal government's constitutional responsibilities in the North and on lands held in trust. INAC delivers its programs through partnerships with Aboriginal communities and federal-provincial or federal-territorial agreements. INAC also works with urban Aboriginal people, Métis and Non-Status Indians (many of whom live in rural areas) through the Office of the Federal Interlocutor.[4] INAC also manages the resources and lands of federal lands, including land and subsurface leases and resource royalties.
Organization
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada has offices in ten (10) regions, at headquarters and to deal with oil and gas leases. The offices are further divided into the broad divisions of treaties and aboriginal government; lands and economic development and education and social development. Northern Affairs is represented in only the Northwest Territories (NWT) and Nunavut Territory (NU) regional offices and headquarters.
Nunavut Land Claim Agreement was implemented in 1993 between the Inuit of the Nunavut Settlement Area and the Government of Canada subject to the Constitution Act of 1982. The territory of Nunavut was formed in 1999. INAC has major responsibilities for managing the lands and resources of Nunavut.
With respect to the Inuit of Nunavut, the department and its Minister have the challenge of implementing the Conciliator’s Final Report, dated March 1, 2006 on the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Implementation Contract Negotiations for the Second Planning Period 2003-2013 "The Nunavut Project" authored by Thomas Berger[5]. This report recommends an increase in Inuit participation in Nunavut's federal and territorial public service.
The Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development is The Honourable Chuck Strahl.
See also
- Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (Canada)
- Indian Register
- Indian Agent (Canada)
- Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
- Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
- The Canadian Crown and First Nations, Inuit and Métis
- Canadian Aboriginal case law
- Aboriginal peoples in Canada
References
- ^ Selected Treaties from the National Archives of Canada
- ^ Departments that have been responsible for Indian Affairs
- ^ departments that have been responsible for Northern Affairs
- ^ About INAC
- ^ The Nunavut Project
- Project Naming, the identification of Inuit portrayed in photographic collections at Library and Archives Canada
- Indian Affairs Annual Reports, 1864-1990
External links
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