1760 – The Peace and Friendship Treaty was instituted, allowing the British and the Mi'kmaq the Mi'kmaq to fish and hunt and continue there religious and customary practises.
1763 – The Royal Proclamation allows for Aboriginal Peoples to be recognized as political units or nations. It stated that Aboriginal peoples were entitled to the rights of a land owner.
1830 – The Canadian Government institutes a policy that encourages the assimilation of natives.
1867 – The British North America Act allows the federal government to have authority over natives and the lands they posses.
1876 - The Indian Act is instituted. It does not recognize aboriginal self government. The Indian Act “protected” the aboriginals lands by appointing non aboriginal agents to be responsible for executing the Acts conditions. Matters of health care, social services, and education were left to the government. The Indian Act dictated that it was illegal for aboriginals to manufacture, posses, or sell liquor.
1960 – the federal government still expects aboriginals to assimilate.
1969 - A White Paper is released and discussed. It proposes to repeal the Indian Act, amend the Bill of Rights, and move natives into mainstream Canada. Aboriginal leaders vigorously appose the White Paper
1971 – The White Paper is withdrawn
1973 – Aboriginals attempted to establish control over traditional lands based on the argument that the land still belonged to them. The settlement of land claims became a a major cause for dispute.
Specific Land Claims: apply to to Aboriginal groups that have signed treaties but feel that government has failed to fulfil there obligations under the Indian Act.
Comprehensive Land Claims: Apply when Aboriginals never signed treaties and have lost acess to ancestral land and resources
Section 25 of the Charter states that the rights included in the charter must not interfere with the rights of aboriginals.
1982- The Constitution act address the issue of what native rights are “existing”.
1999 – All aboriginals have the right to a “moderate living”
2003 – A BC judge ruled that Aboriginal-only commercial salmon fisheries are a form of racial discrimination. A ruling that had far reaching implications.
