It took Canada 36 years to acknowledge that I am a Status Indian. These individuals received Canadian citizenship, but had to renounce Indian status for themselves and all future descendents. When Bill C-31 and changes to the Indian Act abolished oppressive assimilation practices in 1985, my grandmother applied for her Indian status to be reinstated. In 1992, when I was in my 20s, I appealed the registrar’s decision in a bid to gain Indian status. Bill S-3 (2017) has yet to result in changes to the Indian Act that would affect families who “voluntarily” enfranchised.

Source: Huffington Post March 09, 2021 18:22 UTC