Royal_Commission_on_Indian_Affairs_for_the_Province_of_British_Columbia
The Royal Commission on Indian Affairs (commonly known as the McKenna–McBride Commission; originally titled the Commission Respecting Indian Lands and Indian Affairs Generally in the Province of British Columbia)[1] was a joint federal and provincial royal commission established in 1912 to resolve the "Indian reserve question" or "Indian land question" in British Columbia.
It is referred to as the McKenna–McBride Commission after the two men who signed the agreement that created it in 1912: federal commissioner Joseph McKenna and BC Premier Richard McBride. The Commission was chaired by Nathaniel Whitworth White, and, along with McKenna, included the following commissioners: James Andrew, Edward Ludlow Wetmore, Samurez Carmichael, James Pearson Shaw, and Day Hort MacDowall.[1] The commissioners travelled throughout the province for 3 years gathering evidence from Indigenous and non-Indigenous people on the adequacy of reserves.[2]
On July 19, 1924, an amended McKenna–McBride Commission was adopted and applied as the B.C. Indian Lands Settlement Act.
The McKenna-McBride Commission had a significant impact on Aboriginal reserve lands by adding to, reducing, and eliminating reserves throughout the province.[3] In total, reserve land was removed in 35 places from 23 Bands.