Press Release from Native Women's Association of Canada and the Quebec Native Women.

It marks 20 years since amendments were made to the Indian Act, commonly known to First Nations as "Bill C-31". It was first introduced in Parliament on April 17, 1985 and it received Royal Assent on June 28, 1985. To mark the 20th anniversary of the continued discrimination of Bill C-31, the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) and the Quebec NativeWomen Inc. (QNW) are planning a protest on Parliament Hill on June 28, 2005. 

 It is well known that Bill C-31 did not alleviate the discriminationwithin the Indian Act. In fact, the situation has worsened. First Nations children are losing Indian status at an alarming rate because one of their parents is non-status. If something is not done then there will be no more status Indians in the foreseeable future. NWAC President, Beverley Jacobs, is very concerned over the effects of Bill C-31. "My office is receiving numerous calls related to Bill C-31. I am hearing about women being denied access to their communities as a result of who they married before 1985. I am also hearing about First Nations children being denied Indian status due to unstated paternity.

This issue is important to First Nations women across the country. We will continue to advocate for these women until all discrimination is removed from the Indian Act."  Ellen Gabriel, President of the Quebec Native Women Inc. shares similar concerns related to Bill C-31. She states that "Although Bill C-31 was passed 20 years ago, the sexual discrimination that First Nations women have had to endure began with the creation of the 1876 Indian Act. The time to rectify this injustice is long over due.

We, as Aboriginal women leaders, must continue to fight for equality of our rights to end this injustice that never should have happened in the first place! The discrimination within Bill C-31 is not only a First Nations' women's issue. It is an issue that affects all First Nations citizens. Both male and female children and grandchildren are losing Indian status because one of their parents is non-status. Since its inception thirty-one years ago, the Native Women's Association of Canada has been the national organization that advocates on behalf of Aboriginal Women in Canada. Bill C-31 Fact Sheet On June 28, 1985, Bill C-31, An Act to Amend the Indian Act, received Royal Assent. Bill C-31's purpose was to eliminate sexual discrimination within the Indian Act to bring it in line with the Canadian Charter of Rightsand Freedoms and to respond to Sandra Lovelace's decision from the United Nations Human Rights Commission. The UN recognized that Canada was discriminating against First Nations as a result of the marriage provisions within the Indian Act.

Bill C-31 has many aspects to it. First, Bill C-31 abolished the concept of enfranchisement. It is no longer possible for First Nations to "sell" their Indian status. In addition, Bill C-31 provided for the return of Indian status to those who lost it plus one generation. This second-generation cut-off affects many First Nations. Dr. Martin Cannon, Professor of Sociology at the University of Saskatchewan, finds that "the Indian Act is responsible for making gender discrimination the foremost of "Aboriginal issues" in the minds of both female and male descendants of women who acquired status under Bill C-31 and who lost it under the historic Indian Act."

 There is no way to separate 'Aboriginal issues' - those that are of common concern to all Aboriginal people - from 'women's issues'; especially since the history of colonial policy injustices and processes of racialization in what is now called Canada have everything to do with the history of patriarchy and sex discrimination."

 Second, First Nations have to apply to have their Indian status reinstated. Indian Affairs was not prepared for the hundreds of thousands of applications for re-instatement. It is now twenty years later and there are still approximately 10,000 people waiting to regain their Indian status.

 Third, Bill C-31 created new definitions of status, which reflects thecontinued discrimination and sexual discrimination in the Indian Act. There are six subsections of Section 6(1). First Nations peoples who were registered prior to 1985 have Section 6(1)(a) status. For those women who regained status, they are registered under Section 6(1)(c). Her children are registered under Section 6(2).  As First Nations marry persons with no Indian status then their children have Section 6(2) status. If a person with Section 6(2) status has a child with a person with no Indian status then their child has no Indian status. Bill C-31 initially increased the First Nations population but as more First Nations have children with non-status people, Bill C-31 will eliminate Indian status in the foreseeable future.

 Fourth, under the provisions of Bill C-31, First Nations women must state the status of the father when registering their children. Many First Nations women are having difficulties with having to register her children if she does not want to state the paternity of her children, especially if she is an abusive or violent relationship. According to Bill C-31, if the father of the child is not listed on the birth certificate then Indian Affairs assumes that the father is non-status. Unstated paternity means that the child will either have Section 6(2) status or no Indian status.

 Fifth, Bill C-31 gave each First Nations community the right to develop their own membership code. However, each membership code had to be approved by the Minister of Indian Affairs. All First Nations communities have issues with the lack of resources related to Bill C-31: financial, infrastructure, land and housing. There were concerns that increased First Nations populations would have detrimental effects on already limited lands and resources. The Federal Government should have provided additional lands and resources to offset the increase in First Nations populations. Finally, since Bill C-31 was introduced, there have been hundreds of cases being litigated in the courts. These cases deal with membership issues,status issues and continued discrimination and sexual discrimination within Bill C-31.

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