[Mapleson]

They are not Citizens of Canada.  They have the rights of a person (legal entity) in Canada, there is a clear delineation.

For example, the Iroquois Nations are in southern Ontario and northern New York.  The reserves are conjointed and they freely move from one side to the other to the point that Canada and the US has some joint administrative payments because they aren't really sure how many live regularly in Canada and how many live in the USA.

Indians are not bound by Canadian law while on Indian lands (hence Mohawk Casino's and cheap cigarettes), while a Canadian citizen is bound by Canadian law in all parts of Canada.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iroquois


Why is it offensive to First Nations to recognise that we immigrants recognise they had governship of this continent and their own peoples before we arrived and that just because we are here now, doesn't give us the right to tell them what to do?  I believe it's much more offensive for an outsider to decide if one grandchild or another is a member of community.

[Sean Hunt]

They are not Citizens of Canada.  They have the rights of a person (legal entity) in Canada, there is a clear delineation.

For example, the Iroquois Nations are in southern Ontario and northern New York.  The reserves are conjointed and they freely move from one side to the other to the point that Canada and the US has some joint administrative payments because they aren't really sure how many live regularly in Canada and how many live in the USA.

Indians are not bound by Canadian law while on Indian lands (hence Mohawk Casino's and cheap cigarettes), while a Canadian citizen is bound by Canadian law in all parts of Canada.

This is patently false.

Firstly, anyone born in Canada is a Canadian citizen, except for children of diplomatic staff. It otherwise doesn't matter who your parents are or if you are on a reserve or not. Save for the one diplomatic exception, there is no distinction.

Secondly, they /are/ bound by Canadian law while on reserves. They just have a lot of special cases. The Canadian courts still have jurisdiction there, and crimes are still crimes. However, due to some parts of our laws (the Indian Act and the treaties), various other parts of the law do not apply the same way as they do elsewhere.