'Real'' Indians and others: mixed-blood urban Native peoples and indigenous nationhood

Mixed-blood urban Native peoples in Canada are profoundly affected by federal legislation that divides Aboriginal peoples into different legal categories. In this pathfinding book, Bonita Lawrence reveals the ways in which mixed-blood urban Natives understand their identities and struggle to survive in a world that, more often than not, fails to recognize them.In “Real” Indians and Others Lawrence draws on the first-person accounts of thirty Toronto residents of Native heritage, as well as archival materials, sociological research, and her own urban Native heritage and experiences. She sheds light on the Canadian government’s efforts to define Native identity through the years by means of the Indian Act and shows how residential schooling, the loss of official Indian status, and adoption have affected Native identity. Lawrence looks at how Natives with “Indian status” react and respond to “nonstatus” Natives and how federally recognized Native peoples attempt to impose an identity on urban Natives.Drawing on her interviews with urban Natives, she describes the devastating loss of community that has resulted from identity legislation and how urban Native peoples have wrestled with their past and current identities. Lawrence also addresses the future and explores the forms of nation building that can reconcile the differences in experiences and distinct agendas of urban and reserve-based Native communities. Cover Page......Page 1 Title: “Real” Indians and Others Mixed-blood Urban Native Peoples and Indigenous Nationhood......Page 4 ISBN 0803229526......Page 5 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Preface......Page 12 Introduction: Mixed-blood Native Identity in the Americas......Page 22 Part 1. The Regulation of Native Identity......Page 44 1 From Sovereign Nations to “a Vanishing Race”......Page 46 2 Regulating Native Identity By Gender......Page 66 3 Reconfiguring Colonial Gender Relations Under Bill C-31......Page 85 4 Métis Identity, the Indian Act, and the Numbered Treaties......Page 103 Part 2. Mixed-blood Identity in the Toronto Native Community......Page 124 5 Killing the Indian to Save the Child......Page 126 6 Urban Responses to a Heritage of Violence......Page 141 7 Negotiating an Urban Mixed-blood Native Identity......Page 155 8 Maintaining an Urban Native Community......Page 173 Part 3. Colonial Regulation and Entitlement to Nativeness in the Urban Community......Page 192 9 Racial Identity in White Society......Page 194 10 Band Membership and Urban Identity......Page 212 11 Indian Status and Entitlement......Page 229 12 Mixed-blood Urban Native People and the Rebuilding of Indigenous Nations......Page 248 Appendix 1 Eligibility for Status and Band Membership Under Bill C-31 (from Holmes 1987)......Page 268 Appendix 2 Issues in Conducting Indigenous Research......Page 272 Appendix 3 Narratives of Encounters With Genocide......Page 284 Notes......Page 300 Bibliography......Page 312 Index......Page 322 Mixed-blood urban Native peoples in Canada are profoundly affected by federal legislation that divides Aboriginal peoples into different legal categories. In this pathfinding book, Bonita Lawrence reveals the ways in which mixed-blood urban Natives understand their identities and struggle to survive in a world that, more often than not, fails to recognize them. In Real Indians and Others Lawrence draws on the first-person accounts of thirty Toronto residents of Native heritage, as well as archival materials, sociological research, and her own urban Native heritage and experiences. She sheds light on the Canadian governments efforts to define Native identity through the years by means of the Indian Act and shows how residential schooling, the loss of official Indian status, and adoption have affected Native identity. Lawrence looks at how Natives with Indian status react and respond to nonstatus Natives and how federally recognized Native peoples attempt to impose an identity on urban Natives. Drawing on her interviews with urban Natives, she describes the devastating loss of community that has resulted from identity legislation and how urban Native peoples have wrestled with their past and current identities. Lawrence also addresses the future and explores the forms of nation building that can reconcile the differences in experiences and distinct agendas of urban and reserve-based Native communities. From Sovereign Nations To A Vanishing Race -- Regulating Native Identity By Gender -- Reconfiguring Colonial Gender Relations Under Bill C-31 -- Métis Identity, The Indian Act, And The Numbered Treaties -- Killing The Indian To Save The Child -- Urban Responses To A Heritage Of Violence -- Negotiating An Urban Mixed-blood Native Identity -- Maintaining An Urban Native Community -- Racial Identity In White Society -- Band Membership And Urban Identity -- Indian Status And Entitlement -- Mixed-blood Urban Native People And The Rebuilding Of Indigenous Nations. Bonita Lawrence. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [291]-300) And Index. See index for "Sixties Scoop, 60s, 60's brief references, also Chapter 5 for Child welfare, foster care, White adoption