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Departments of the Government of Canada |
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| Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development | |
| Affaires autochtones et du développement du Nord canadien | |
| Minister | John Duncan (Canadian politician) |
| Deputy Minister | Michael Wernick |
| Established | 1966 |
| Responsibilities | First Nations Nunavut Northwest Territories Yukon (external issues only) |
| Employees | 4500+ |
| Department Website | |
The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, referred to by its applied title under the Federal Identity Program (FIP) as Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, (French: Affaires autochtones et du développement du Nord canadien, AADNC) is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for policies relating to Aboriginal peoples in Canada, that comprise the First Nations (Indians),[1] Inuit[2] and Métis.[3] Its headquarters are in Terrasses de la Chaudière in downtown Gatineau, Quebec.[4]
Pursuant to the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Act, the term "Indian" remains in the department's legal name, although the term "Aboriginal" is used in its applied title under the Federal Identity Program. The term "Indian" refers to Status Indians defined by the Indian Act. The term "Indian" is the legal term used in the Canadian Constitution and federal statutes. However its usage outside such situations has fallen into decline as has the term Eskimo [5] and the term "First Nations" is often used in non-legal contexts. The term "Aboriginal" is commonly used when referring to the three groups of indigenous peoples as a whole.[6] It is also used by Aboriginal people who live within Canada who claim rights of sovereignty or Aboriginal title to lands. The department is overseen by the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, currently John Morris Duncan.
Contents |
| Aboriginal peoples in Canada |
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First Nations · Inuit · Métis |
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History
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Politics
Crown and Aboriginals
Treaties · Health Policy Royal Commission Indian Act · Politics Organizations · Case law Indian Affairs Canada |
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Culture
Aboriginal cultures
Aboriginal personalities |
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Demographics
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Religions
Inuit mythology
Traditional beliefs |
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Index
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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[7] 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. On October 1, 1966, the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development was created as a result of the Government Organization Act, 1966.[8] Effective June 13, 2011, the department was renamed the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada.[9]
The Northern Development part of the department has its origins in the Department of the Interior, a body created by then Prime Minister 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 and then the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development in 2011.[10][9] Under the Federal Identity Program, the department is known as Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada.
Beginning in the early 20th century, the Canadian government sponsored annual expeditions to the Canadian North. 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 National Institute for the Blind. As the Regional Director of Family Allowances for Yukon and the Northwest Territories, S.J. Bailey served as part of the Eastern Arctic Patrol beginning in the late 1940s.
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) 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. AANDC delivers its programs through partnerships with Aboriginal communities and federal-provincial or federal-territorial agreements. AANDC 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.[11] AANDC also manages the resources and lands of federal lands, including land and subsurface leases and resource royalties.
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development 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 Develompent is represented in only the Northwest Territories (NWT) and Nunavut (NU) regional offices and headquarters.
The Nunavut Land Claims 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. AANDC 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.[12] This report recommends an increase in Inuit participation in Nunavut's federal and territorial public service.
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