Why Canada Failed to Implement the Indian Control of Indian Education Policy, 1972–1975

• In Event: New Histories of Indigenous Education

Abstract

The Johnson-O’Malley Indian Reorganization Act (1934) extended limited self-government to American Indian communities. In Canada, the first steps toward self-governance would not come until the 1970s when the National Indian Brotherhood issued its 1972 policy statement, Indian Control of Indian Education. In response, Canada’s Indian Affairs minister vowed to devolve educational control to Indigenous communities. Nevertheless, the goal of devolution was never fully achieved. This paper examines why the government failed to fulfill its promise. Many obstacles blocked the implementation of Indian Control of Indian Education, including problems of interpretation, legal barriers, lack of funding exacerbated by overlap of services, and a crowded federal policy agenda that pushed education to the bottom of the priority list.

Authors

• Helen S. Raptis, University of Victoria

• Yan Gao, University of Victoria