The Pass System – Segregation in Canada

“The pass system has had lasting effects on generations of Indigenous people. Over half a century of segregation and restrictions on mobility contributed to the loss of culture, strained family relations, caused feelings of distrust towards the government and police, and brought about socioeconomic inequalities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities (as well as between reserve and off-reserve communities).”1 One can only imagine the sense of shame that adults, both men and women, would feel when having to ask permission to go hunting, to go fishing, or to go visit their own children. What did this do to the self confidence and self worth people felt?  Furthermore, this control of Indigenous people, in their movements, in their rituals, in their farming and hunting and even in their visits to their children, without question helped create an intergenerational sense of dependency.