By: Lucaiah Smith-Miodownik, News Writer

In 1876, the Indian Act established the Canadian government’s legal ability to determine who is or is not considered a First Nations person under federal law, with the intent to “control and assimilate Indigenous peoples into Euro-Canadian culture,” as written by The Canadian Encyclopedia. 150 years later, despite some changes to the policy, Canada retains the authority to dictate Indian Status.

In 1985, amendments to the Indian Act under Bill C-31 introduced the second generation cut-off rule. Under this legislation, after two generations of parents where only one individual is registered or entitled to Indian Status and the other is not, a child born is no longer entitled to such status.

The legacy of the Indian Act is also one of gender-based discrimination. Prior to 1985, a First Nations woman with status who married a non-status man would lose status herself. The same was not the case for First Nations men. Additionally, “the children and grandchildren of those unions were unable to get status, meaning neither the women nor their children had the right to live on reserve.” This practice distanced women physically and emotionally from systems of support, which contributed to higher likelihoods of violence against Indigenous women and girls.

Now, new amendments to Bill S-2 aim to abolish remaining discriminatory practices. On May 5, K̓áwáziɫ Marilyn Slett, Chief Councillor of the Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) Tribal Council and Secretary-Treasurer of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) spoke in front of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs in Ottawa to advocate for the removal of several discriminatory aspects of the legislation, including the second-generation cut off. 

If passed by Parliament, the bill would rid the act of the second-generation cutoff by creating the “single-parent rule, allowing status to pass on indefinitely to future generations.” Additionally, initial amendments seek to ensure that First Nations whose past family lost Indian Status are still equally entitled to status themselves.

“This piece of racist and sexist colonial legislation continues its objective of eliminating the ‘Indian problem’ by assimilating First Nations people through the second-generation cut-off,” said Chief Slett about the Indian Act.

As reported by CBC, Cynthia Lapierre of the Wendat (Wendake) Nation shared that the Indian Act has an overarching “objective of genocide,” achieved through the removal of status for women and children.

“History is repeating itself. There are children in our communities that are ghosts. They have no rights or recognition or belonging.”

— Cynthia Lapierre of the Wendat Nation

The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a branch of the United Nations Human Rights Council, also recently urged The Parliament of Canada to do away with the cut-off. The organization deemed the practice to be a breach of Article 8 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, “which prohibits forced assimilation and destruction of culture.”

“In 2026, it is still dictating who we can parent with if we wish to pass status onto our children,” said Chief Slett to the Committee. “I am here today to urge the Committee and Prime Minister Carney to support Bill S-2 as amended to advance the rights and safety of First Nations women and our descendants, to prevent the legal extinction of our people, and to end the discrimination once and for all.” 

You can read the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs’ full news release at www.ubcic.bc.ca/.