In 1857 the Province of Canada adopted the enfranchisement processes to "civilize" Indigenous persons and assimilate them. After Confederation, the Privy
Council of Canada approved Orders in Council enfranchising Canadian Indigenous persons. An Indigenous person who was approved to be enfranchised lost their status as an
Indigenous person. An Indigenous woman and her minor unmarried children automatically became enfranchised if the woman married a non-status man.
We photographed the enfranchisement Orders in Council listed
in the Red Registers of the Privy Council of Canada from 1878 to 1970 and indexed the names of the persons contained in them. The names include not only the enfranchised Indigenous persons but also the non-status men who married Indigenous women.
For more information on Enfranchisement and to find names of enfranchised persons that were not in the Orders in Council we photographed and indexed, please follow the instructions shown in this blog from Library and
Archives Canada: https://thediscoverblog.com/tag/enfranchisement/
The list of Surnames in the Orders in Council we photographed and indexed starting from A to M is here: Surnames A - M
The list of Surnames in the Orders in Council we photographed and indexed starting from N to Z is here: Surnames N - Z
A partial list of the Bands and Agencies that these persons belonged to before they were enfranchised is here: Bands and Agencies
To order a photograph of the enfranchisement Order in Council containing a name you see in these lists or to
ask any questions, please contact us at:
orderincouncillists@outlook.com