What counts/counted as “religion” in Canada and why does that matter? A significant part of the logic that justified the Canadian government’s cultural genocide of Indigenous peoples was their lack of “religion” – most settlers believed “religion” was a necessary feature of civilized cultures and insofar as Indigenous people did not, it was necessary to bring it to them via residential schools, for instance. Limiting yourself to the readings, lectures, and documentaries that have been assigned, write a paper at a minimum of 1000 words that addresses the following: 1) Read Posluns 2007: 38-39, discussing British Columbia’s Evidence Act (sections 12-14), which was in effect until 1977. How did this law understand what “religion” is? That is, what features did it imagine “religion” to have, features that were ostensibly not found among Indigenous Canadians? What are the assumptions and claims it makes about the nature of “religion”? It would be good to refamiliarize yourself with the Martin 2017: 1-18 for this portion. 2) What are the implications of the Evidence Act’s definition of religion? That is, why does it matter that it defines religion this way and how does this definition affect the lives of Indigenous Canadians? 3) Drawing upon the Paper 2012 reading, to what extent does the Evidence Act accurately represent or misrepresent Indigenous Canadian “religion”? Note that your paper should take the form of an argument with a clear thesis statement. Use the Chicago citation system.
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