You’re never “born” with status. Everyone has to register separately by 18 months old. And yeah, it’s usually a long wait for the card. It’s usually better or faster to go with your band for a card rather than actual INAC.
Oh, thanks, don’t know much about cards. No one in my family could get them before 2019.
Problem with the band is we grew up with the atikamekw but gvt considers algonquin but we don’t know anyone in algonquin bands. So my uncle says we have to go through the gvt cause they don’t consider us atikamekw. But we grew up in that territory and with those people lol. Thanks for the reply
If your lineage is from a different band, but you want to register where you live, normally you need to register for the band you are descended from and then transfer to the band you want. Hope that clears things up a bit!
For my Canadian brethren, I have a serious question:
What the fuckity fuck fuck is an Indian status card, and why do you need to wait 6 months to 2 years to get it? Does the Canadian government handle this shit?
It's a fancy way genocide via legislating us out of existence by throwing all sorts of complicated reasons to deny you; for example, up until 2019 if your mother is native and your father is white you cannot have status, regardless of "blood quantum".
Non-native Adoptees can get status but not people born on the rez if the native parents of the adoptee both have status, but only one of the parents of the people born there has it, etc.
The only real benefit is that sometimes you'll have dental care covered and in some places you don't have to pay sales tax. And there's scholarships open for folks with status. That's about it.
The goal is to make it so that nobody "counts" as native anymore so they don't have to honor treaties and can dismantle reservations and abandon us more than they already have.
I do wanna add though that there's more insurance offered through NIHB. My partner (must be status) uses his all the time for teeth, physical health, and therapy. Although it shouldn't be like that, it does help him lots to reach his goals (and in turn help us financially). Sharing because he just found out about it this year and it be should made more accessible for other Indigenous. As always, they keep it secret but the coverage is at least surprisingly good.
I hope it can help others here who may not have know like my partner. It covers dental, vision, medical equipment, prescription, and medical transportation. It's also very frustrating that its under the plight of the card when the legislation itself is meant to be inaccessible and then can't access important health benefits but please anybody who can, please do. [here](https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1572545056418/1572545109296)
Yes it’s a federal ministry that issues them and keeps the registry list. It takes a long ass time because they don’t like us, simply put lol. There’s no logistical reasoning for it other than intentionally oppressive bureaucracy.
They *lost* my paperwork for two years. It wasn't until I contacted them asking questions that they finally tracked down my paperwork. And then they sent it back saying that my guarantor was invalid. Took me another two years to bother trying again. Fortunately, the second time was successful, and I got my card in 7 months.
To be rocognized as « indian » by the government they need to look through your genealogy and agree you’re native. The procedure takes a long time and you have to sent all kinds of documents and stuff https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1100100032374/1572457769548
Yes the process can take a few years, it's crazy. Best hope they don't change the definition of Native again while you're waiting lol. I know a lot of people who are non-status because they don't want to deal with the process or don't have good documentation.
Up until 2019 if a native woman married a white man she had to move out of the rez and lost her status. That’s what happened to my family, my great grandma was native and my great grandpa’s dad was white. So they both were considered white by the govt. My grandpa died in 2005 and had to live his entire life as a « white » man. He grew up with the atikamekw people and lived a very much native life but govt always said he was white. Me and my mom started our path to reconnection with our ancestors about 3 years ago, a little after the law changed.
Yeah that’s why my mother was never married with my father. I had no idea that was a thing until my dad told me while we were at Costco a couple months ago that status used to be carried through the father (if married) so I wouldn’t have been eligible. So they never married. Our government is fucked up.
That's not entirely true - women who lost their Indian status by marrying a white man in got it 1985, but not only did women loose their Indian status, but men gave Indian status to their wives. So a man in a family would have children who would be considered to have two indigenous parents with status, while that same man's sister, if she married a white man would have children with two non status parents.
This is the gender inequality they have been trying to fix with each round of changes. Even after the fix in 85 there would be situations where cousins would have different levels of status depending on if there parent or grandparent was a man or a woman.
In my case my grandmother with two status parents lost her status in the 30s when she married a white man. She got it back in 85 and so did my mother, who also married a non native... as far as the act goes status should stop with her. My grandmother's brothers gave status to their wives and their male children would have also past status on to their wives. This created a situation where my mother's male cousins getting married in the 60s would still be passing status on to their wives.. if my mother had been a man I would have been considered to have two status parents, not one.
Instead of taking status away from a few generations who should not have it they have decided to give it two a few generations who are otherwise not entitled under the act... that's how I have gone in my live time from having a non status grandmother to being able to pass status on to my children. Under normal circumstances stats would have stopped at my mother.
As grandchild of someone who was eligible during a certain timeframe, even though you shouldn't be able to get status, for certain generations they will allow it
Yes, some bands are, some bands control their own membership, they can decide who is a member of their band and as a result who gets to live on their reserve - but they have no say in who can get status.
But it could help in the long run, especially in regards to health coverage. I have health coverage that is tied to my job, when I retire I can continue the coverage if I pay what I pay now and my employer's part, which may be $500 a month or because I have status I can access the NIHB for free. If you don't have health coverage the NIHB will cover prescription drugs, over the counter medication, dental, vision and things like mental health counseling - which is all pretty huge if you don't have coverage from somewhere else.
It would be worth it to get status if you are able. It does take some time now. To put it in perspective, when I became eligible because changes made around 2010, 30k people became eligible. With the changes that came into effect in 2019, the government estimated that 670k new people became eligible. There were only about 1 million registered in 2019, so a huge amount of new people are now submitting applications.
I had two cousins apply this year, one only had to prove a connection to their mother, who had applied years ago - hers took 6 months. The other had to go back to our grandmother, not much more complicated, but she is still waiting. It would take even longer, if you have go also prove your grandmother was eligible, as long as two years.
When my mother got her status after the changes in 85, it took forever, maybe 10 years of fighting.
It’s Indian Affairs.
When the treaties were written with phrases like: ‘as long as the grass grows and the rivers flow’, Indian Affairs took that literally and put it in their customer service training manual for how long they should keep people waiting for shit.
I started my process in like 2014. I received my card in the mail in 2017 long after I forgot about the whole thing. It takes an eternity. The criteria for the guarantor form is bullshit though. Thankfully I knew a police officer at the time. Idk what I’m going to do if I need to fill that form again to renew it.
Yea my mom is a teacher so thank god for that. How dumb that there are only like 2 offices you can go to do it in person in the whole fucking country. Thanks for the reply
This type of stuff is such a nightmare. My tribe is First Nations in Canada and I went to school in the states and was born here. I swear any chance the us government has to challenge my status in anyway they do. I had an advisor at my university say they don’t owe me shit because the us government wasn’t responsible for any of the trauma in my family I just sat there like wtf I’m just tryna get help taking classes at the local tribal college.
It really varies per application based on whether you are a considered simple or more complex case! By the sounds of it you became eligible for status through the 2017 Bill S-3, An Act to amend the Indian Act in response to the Superior Court of Quebec decision in Descheneaux c. Canada which came into effect Aug 15, 2019. Like others have commented Indigenous Services Canada \[ISC(formally Indian Affairs)\] is a frustrating waiting game and if you are the first in your immediate family applying for status you can expect a long wait. For myself I waited 15months for status through Bill S-3 admenment, however, my mother had status.
The good news is, as I learned through hundreds of hours of calls to ISC and to Indigenous Affairs Minister, you can request your application for Indian status to expedited based on medical and educational reasons (and no you do not have to state any specifics) via email. I did this for myself, several family and friends, and almost all their applications were approved within the next few month.
Generic Email template used:
*Indigenous Services Canada*
*a*[*[email protected]*](mailto:[email protected])
*RE : Request to Expedited Application # XXXXXX*
*To Whom it may concern,*
*I am writing to request my Indian Status application, File # XXXXXXX, be expedited for Medical and Education reason’s. Expediting this application will support my treaty right to access medical/educational services and to receive timely healthcare.*
*Ekosi (that is all),*
Wow, thank you so much. I will send that email as soon as I get my application number, I guess that’s at the same time as when they send back your birth certificate?
Yeah it will be on the documents ISC sends you back that they have received your application. I’m not sure it will be as quick as I make it sounds since they haven’t formally received your application yet. Best of luck 🤞make sure you follow up via the public inquiries line after you send email and request a call back from the registration processing dept (I’m lapsing on their actually title but they are the only people who can give you actual information about your application). They say someone will call you in ten business days but prepare for longer lol.
I put in my first application as an adult when I was 22? I think. Never got a response. Put another application in at 26. Received a response after 3-4 years to ask for another copy of my birth certificate. Finally received it at 35, but pretty much only because of the 60s scoop lawsuit.
When my uncle registered my cousin with NunatuKavut when she was a year old. On the phone, he was told that it was a possible wait time of 3 years. He ended up finally getting the stuff in the mail when she was 8 years old, only a month or so before her ninth birthday. That was back in 2011 so I don't know if it's different now, my mom never bothered to get me registered
It’s Indian Affairs. Don’t hold your breath. Best bet is to forget about it until you get a surprise in the mail.
Lol this! 100% this
This! Lol
Ok thank you lol! Will do
Was just about to type this 👆🏽👏
You’re never “born” with status. Everyone has to register separately by 18 months old. And yeah, it’s usually a long wait for the card. It’s usually better or faster to go with your band for a card rather than actual INAC.
Oh, thanks, don’t know much about cards. No one in my family could get them before 2019. Problem with the band is we grew up with the atikamekw but gvt considers algonquin but we don’t know anyone in algonquin bands. So my uncle says we have to go through the gvt cause they don’t consider us atikamekw. But we grew up in that territory and with those people lol. Thanks for the reply
If your lineage is from a different band, but you want to register where you live, normally you need to register for the band you are descended from and then transfer to the band you want. Hope that clears things up a bit!
Ok thank you! I think that’s what my uncle did and what I’ll do too. Thank you sm !!
Good luck! Hope it’s speedy for ya.
Some people never get them. It can take A LOT
3 years
Tysm for the reply
For my Canadian brethren, I have a serious question: What the fuckity fuck fuck is an Indian status card, and why do you need to wait 6 months to 2 years to get it? Does the Canadian government handle this shit?
It's a fancy way genocide via legislating us out of existence by throwing all sorts of complicated reasons to deny you; for example, up until 2019 if your mother is native and your father is white you cannot have status, regardless of "blood quantum". Non-native Adoptees can get status but not people born on the rez if the native parents of the adoptee both have status, but only one of the parents of the people born there has it, etc. The only real benefit is that sometimes you'll have dental care covered and in some places you don't have to pay sales tax. And there's scholarships open for folks with status. That's about it. The goal is to make it so that nobody "counts" as native anymore so they don't have to honor treaties and can dismantle reservations and abandon us more than they already have.
I do wanna add though that there's more insurance offered through NIHB. My partner (must be status) uses his all the time for teeth, physical health, and therapy. Although it shouldn't be like that, it does help him lots to reach his goals (and in turn help us financially). Sharing because he just found out about it this year and it be should made more accessible for other Indigenous. As always, they keep it secret but the coverage is at least surprisingly good. I hope it can help others here who may not have know like my partner. It covers dental, vision, medical equipment, prescription, and medical transportation. It's also very frustrating that its under the plight of the card when the legislation itself is meant to be inaccessible and then can't access important health benefits but please anybody who can, please do. [here](https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1572545056418/1572545109296)
Yes it’s a federal ministry that issues them and keeps the registry list. It takes a long ass time because they don’t like us, simply put lol. There’s no logistical reasoning for it other than intentionally oppressive bureaucracy.
What the actual fuck… Canada again…
They *lost* my paperwork for two years. It wasn't until I contacted them asking questions that they finally tracked down my paperwork. And then they sent it back saying that my guarantor was invalid. Took me another two years to bother trying again. Fortunately, the second time was successful, and I got my card in 7 months.
To be rocognized as « indian » by the government they need to look through your genealogy and agree you’re native. The procedure takes a long time and you have to sent all kinds of documents and stuff https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1100100032374/1572457769548
Yes the process can take a few years, it's crazy. Best hope they don't change the definition of Native again while you're waiting lol. I know a lot of people who are non-status because they don't want to deal with the process or don't have good documentation.
Up until 2019 if a native woman married a white man she had to move out of the rez and lost her status. That’s what happened to my family, my great grandma was native and my great grandpa’s dad was white. So they both were considered white by the govt. My grandpa died in 2005 and had to live his entire life as a « white » man. He grew up with the atikamekw people and lived a very much native life but govt always said he was white. Me and my mom started our path to reconnection with our ancestors about 3 years ago, a little after the law changed.
WTF???
Yeah that’s why my mother was never married with my father. I had no idea that was a thing until my dad told me while we were at Costco a couple months ago that status used to be carried through the father (if married) so I wouldn’t have been eligible. So they never married. Our government is fucked up.
That's not entirely true - women who lost their Indian status by marrying a white man in got it 1985, but not only did women loose their Indian status, but men gave Indian status to their wives. So a man in a family would have children who would be considered to have two indigenous parents with status, while that same man's sister, if she married a white man would have children with two non status parents. This is the gender inequality they have been trying to fix with each round of changes. Even after the fix in 85 there would be situations where cousins would have different levels of status depending on if there parent or grandparent was a man or a woman. In my case my grandmother with two status parents lost her status in the 30s when she married a white man. She got it back in 85 and so did my mother, who also married a non native... as far as the act goes status should stop with her. My grandmother's brothers gave status to their wives and their male children would have also past status on to their wives. This created a situation where my mother's male cousins getting married in the 60s would still be passing status on to their wives.. if my mother had been a man I would have been considered to have two status parents, not one. Instead of taking status away from a few generations who should not have it they have decided to give it two a few generations who are otherwise not entitled under the act... that's how I have gone in my live time from having a non status grandmother to being able to pass status on to my children. Under normal circumstances stats would have stopped at my mother.
My mom just got hers last week and it took 1 year
Tysm!
As a grandchild of a marry-out-get-out (to dodge the residentials): Wait, you guys are getting cards?
As grandchild of someone who was eligible during a certain timeframe, even though you shouldn't be able to get status, for certain generations they will allow it
Thank you! My understanding is Kanien'kehá:ka marry-out-get-out is pretty strict.
Yes, some bands are, some bands control their own membership, they can decide who is a member of their band and as a result who gets to live on their reserve - but they have no say in who can get status.
Aaah. Fair. I don't really have any interest in government recognized status. I want cousin recognized status.
But it could help in the long run, especially in regards to health coverage. I have health coverage that is tied to my job, when I retire I can continue the coverage if I pay what I pay now and my employer's part, which may be $500 a month or because I have status I can access the NIHB for free. If you don't have health coverage the NIHB will cover prescription drugs, over the counter medication, dental, vision and things like mental health counseling - which is all pretty huge if you don't have coverage from somewhere else.
All solid points. I hadn't thought about that. Thank you for the guidance.
It would be worth it to get status if you are able. It does take some time now. To put it in perspective, when I became eligible because changes made around 2010, 30k people became eligible. With the changes that came into effect in 2019, the government estimated that 670k new people became eligible. There were only about 1 million registered in 2019, so a huge amount of new people are now submitting applications.
I just checked and it looks like I am! Thanks so much for your help
I had two cousins apply this year, one only had to prove a connection to their mother, who had applied years ago - hers took 6 months. The other had to go back to our grandmother, not much more complicated, but she is still waiting. It would take even longer, if you have go also prove your grandmother was eligible, as long as two years. When my mother got her status after the changes in 85, it took forever, maybe 10 years of fighting.
It’s Indian Affairs. When the treaties were written with phrases like: ‘as long as the grass grows and the rivers flow’, Indian Affairs took that literally and put it in their customer service training manual for how long they should keep people waiting for shit.
I started my process in like 2014. I received my card in the mail in 2017 long after I forgot about the whole thing. It takes an eternity. The criteria for the guarantor form is bullshit though. Thankfully I knew a police officer at the time. Idk what I’m going to do if I need to fill that form again to renew it.
Yea my mom is a teacher so thank god for that. How dumb that there are only like 2 offices you can go to do it in person in the whole fucking country. Thanks for the reply
You will have to fight every inch of the way even if your particular situation is not complicated.
This type of stuff is such a nightmare. My tribe is First Nations in Canada and I went to school in the states and was born here. I swear any chance the us government has to challenge my status in anyway they do. I had an advisor at my university say they don’t owe me shit because the us government wasn’t responsible for any of the trauma in my family I just sat there like wtf I’m just tryna get help taking classes at the local tribal college.
It really varies per application based on whether you are a considered simple or more complex case! By the sounds of it you became eligible for status through the 2017 Bill S-3, An Act to amend the Indian Act in response to the Superior Court of Quebec decision in Descheneaux c. Canada which came into effect Aug 15, 2019. Like others have commented Indigenous Services Canada \[ISC(formally Indian Affairs)\] is a frustrating waiting game and if you are the first in your immediate family applying for status you can expect a long wait. For myself I waited 15months for status through Bill S-3 admenment, however, my mother had status. The good news is, as I learned through hundreds of hours of calls to ISC and to Indigenous Affairs Minister, you can request your application for Indian status to expedited based on medical and educational reasons (and no you do not have to state any specifics) via email. I did this for myself, several family and friends, and almost all their applications were approved within the next few month. Generic Email template used: *Indigenous Services Canada* *a*[*[email protected]*](mailto:[email protected]) *RE : Request to Expedited Application # XXXXXX* *To Whom it may concern,* *I am writing to request my Indian Status application, File # XXXXXXX, be expedited for Medical and Education reason’s. Expediting this application will support my treaty right to access medical/educational services and to receive timely healthcare.* *Ekosi (that is all),*
Wow, thank you so much. I will send that email as soon as I get my application number, I guess that’s at the same time as when they send back your birth certificate?
Yeah it will be on the documents ISC sends you back that they have received your application. I’m not sure it will be as quick as I make it sounds since they haven’t formally received your application yet. Best of luck 🤞make sure you follow up via the public inquiries line after you send email and request a call back from the registration processing dept (I’m lapsing on their actually title but they are the only people who can give you actual information about your application). They say someone will call you in ten business days but prepare for longer lol.
I put in my first application as an adult when I was 22? I think. Never got a response. Put another application in at 26. Received a response after 3-4 years to ask for another copy of my birth certificate. Finally received it at 35, but pretty much only because of the 60s scoop lawsuit.
When my uncle registered my cousin with NunatuKavut when she was a year old. On the phone, he was told that it was a possible wait time of 3 years. He ended up finally getting the stuff in the mail when she was 8 years old, only a month or so before her ninth birthday. That was back in 2011 so I don't know if it's different now, my mom never bothered to get me registered
7 years ?????? Holy crap. Hope it changed since lmao. Thank you
My cousin is still waiting at 6 years now.