2. Women's Perspectives - Christian Aboriginal Infrastructure ...

He also found that whatever power bands may have had to determine their membership
was extinguished before the advent of section 35: "no aboriginal right either to
discriminate against aboriginal women, or to control membership at large, ever survived
to enjoy the protection of subsection 35(1)". 73
As mentioned, 240 bands representing nearly 40 per cent of the status Indian population
had adopted band membership codes by December 1995. Band membership codes are
based on one of four principles of descent. According to Clatworthy and Smith, among
the 236 bands that had adopted codes by 1992, the breakdown was as follows: 74
• The one-parent rule — used by 90 bands across the country — holds that an individual
is eligible for membership if one parent is a band member.
• Under the two-parent rule, used by 67 bands, both parents must be band members.
• Another 49 bands follow the rules set out in subsections 6(1) and 6(2) of the Indian Act.
This, of course, is the same rule used by bands without a membership code, except that in
the latter case the department of Indian affairs enforces it, not the band.
• The fourth and final type of membership rule is based on blood quantum and is the
method chosen by 30 bands. A blood quantum rule sets a criterion for membership based
on the number of Indian ancestors in an individual's family history. Blood quantum codes
measure a person's quantum by adding the quantum of each parent and dividing by two.
An individual with one parent of 100 per cent Indian blood and one parent with no
Aboriginal blood is considered to be 50 per cent Indian. Similarly, if both parents are
considered 50 per cent Indian, the child is considered 50 per cent Indian. A typical blood
quantum criterion for band membership is 50 per cent, although there are codes where the
quantum is set either above or below this level.
While ostensibly supportive of self-government, membership codes have the potential to
undermine it in the future. An issue arises that is of concern not only to women. For
example, the one-parent membership rule is more inclusive than the Indian Act rules —
thereby enlarging the potential band membership under codes based on this rule — but
the same cannot be said for blood quantum and two-parent rules. The two-parent rule in
particular has the potential to reduce band size drastically, first through restricting the
initial band population and then by penalizing the children of those who marry out.
It is clear that at current rates of marrying out, some band populations will decline
quickly in the coming years. 75 Self-government seems to imply a larger rather than a
smaller population if critical mass and economies of scale are to be maintained. Although
a smaller group is more likely to include people who are also status Indians under federal
rules and thereby entitled to all the benefits available to Indian persons, such a group
appears less likely to be able to develop the infrastructure of a modern government
without bringing in additional members. This may be a recipe for continuing dependency.
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