Aboriginal People and the Canadian Federation

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Following the European colonizer arrived at and invades Canada, the Aboriginal people-who are considered as the natives, have been oppressed for many centuries. Their land was taken by the settlers and their economy become too sluggish and subsistence; they were marginalized in the social, economic, cultural and political arenas. This paper is aimed to assess the root causes of conflict between the aboriginals and settlers and to identify measures taken by the government to address the problems. We used intensive secondary data through reviewing different books and international journals. Lose of land ownership, deterioration of health and economic development, worst assimilation of Aboriginal People to the main stream culture, Political marginalization such under representation of them under government office, Economic exploitation of Aboriginal People are some of the real causes of conflict between Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal People. Besides, they are not also allowed to run their own business activities, exercise their cultural ways of life, improve and develop their culture and traditions. Federalism, multiculturalism, empowering Supreme Court and the constitution act of 1982 were of the institutional arrangement recognized typically to deal with the existing real conflict and to accommodate diversity. Some of possible measures taken by the government are- the recognition of the right to land title; the right to self-government on their internal matters, to develop their culture, language and identities. It also allowed developing laws like laws on customary marriage for their people though subject to the approval of the minister responsible for their affairs have also been recognized to exercise.