Problems The "Fourth World" Faces And Some Possible Solutions

The "Fourth World", an existence for almost all the aboriginal people in the world, is increasingly drawing people's attention and calling for best solutions from either government or international world. Solutions to the "Fourth World " would help aboriginal people gain their self-government and economic independence, an equal and dignified living condition they have struggled for centuries.The introduction deals with the history of Indian people and their development in Canada.Chapter one will focus on the origin of the "Fourth World" theory: How and when is it started? Who put it forward? What is the exact meaning of the "Fourth World"? And how much does it encompass? Further, I will proceed to elaborate the significance of the "Fourth World" theory, how big a role it is going to play in solving the problems faced by the aboriginal people, especially the Canadian Indians.In Chapter two, my research will scale down to a case study: the "Fourth World" problem confronts Canadian Indians. First of all, a careful examination of Canadian history will be conducted to find out how the "Fourth World" situation came into being. Two major factors contribute to it. One is the pre-federation colonial rule. French people's fur trade usurped Indian people's natural resource.Later, English colonists dominated French. They took land from Indian People to set up their settlement. Spiritually, after colonists invaded North America, they went to great lengths to Christianize Indians and the Christinization set the first step of Indians' relegation to the "Fourth World". The other factor accounting for the "Fourth World" is Canadian federal government's policies towards Indians. The most important or notorious policy is The Indian Act, passed in 1867. In this act, Indian people's identity was challenged. Their traditional social structure was transformed from matriarchal to patriarchal system. Enfrichisement deprived Indians of their inherent right to be an Indian who rightfully enjoys their Indian identity and the right to land. All in all, the political subjugation and economic dependency are due to the colonial rule and federal government's policy.Chapter three deals with the problems facing Canadian Indians. Their problems include, to name just a few, reserve condition, economic development, education and problematic self-government. But all these problems hinge on two basic problems: politically, self-government; economically, land claims and the consequent Indian economic independency.Chapter four offers solutions to the political and economical problems of the "Fourth World". The new relationship between Indians and federal government in the context of federal system is a prerequisite of the actual implementation of self-government. Transferring more power to Indian community will enhance their self-government capacity. Economically, federal government and Indian community should join hands to build an independent Indian economy. Federal government should give back more resource and resource management power to Indians to ensure that they take their economic development into their own hands. On the part of Indians, they should reform their internal relations and expand democracy and participation of economic decision-making. Only in this way, can the "FourthWorld" problem be completely addressed and the Indian people are able to enjoy what they deserve as the first-nation as well as the Canadian citizen.The conclusion is a further analysis and summarization of the possible solutions in Chapter five.