- Starting in the 1820s, colonial administrators began trying to "civilize" First Nations and assimilate (merge) them into “proper society”.
- The "civilization" program was to remain one of the central tenets of Indian policy and legislation for the next 150 years.
- One of the first such pieces of legislation was the Crown Lands Protection Act, passed in 1839.
- This Act made the government the guardian of all Crown lands, including Indian Reserve lands and also limited settlers' access to reserves.
- More legislation protecting First Nations interests were passed in 1850, limiting trespassing on First Nations reserve lands, exempting First Nations from taxation and protecting them from creditors.
- In 1857, the British administration introduced the Gradual Civilization Act which gave 50 acres of land as well as money to literate and debt-free First Nations individuals if they abandoned their traditional lifestyle and adopted a "civilized" life as a "citizen".
- All colonial responsibility for the management of "Indians and Indian lands" became a federal responsibility under the 1867 British North America Act.
- New treaties, known as the Numbered Treaties, were drafted between 1871 and 1921 and included schools and teachers for First Nations children on reserves; farming, hunting and fishing equipment; and ceremonial and symbolic items for chiefs
- First Nations were encouraged to settle on reserve lands in sedentary communities, take up agriculture and receive an education.
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