Between 1876 and 1985, the Indian Act in Canada applied various provisions that disproportionately affected Indigenous women. These provisions often discriminated against Indigenous women, particularly in terms of their status, marriage, and the rights of their descendants. For example:
Status: Under certain circumstances, Indigenous women who married non-Indigenous men would lose their "Indian status," which meant they would no longer be considered registered Indians. This provision was not applied in the same way to Indigenous men who married non-Indigenous women.
Marriage: The Indian Act also contained provisions that determined who Indigenous women could and could not marry without affecting their status. These provisions were not applied to Indigenous men in the same way.
Descendants: The Indian Act had different rules for the registration of the descendants of Indigenous women and men, with the descendants of women facing more restrictive rules.
In summary, the Indian Act between 1876 and 1985 did not provide equal protection or rights to Indigenous men and women. It had provisions that disproportionately impacted Indigenous women and their descendants. However, changes to the Act in 1985 (Bill C-31) attempted to address some of these discriminatory provisions and restore status to some Indigenous women who had lost it due to marriage to non-Indigenous men.