The Indian Act is a piece of legislation passed in 1876 in reference to all matters related to Indigenous peoples in Canada; including reserves, Indian status, and their everyday life. In 1880 the Department of Indian Affairs was created to enforce the powers of the Indian Act. The act was not officially repealed until 1951.
Indian Agents, the men in charge of large territories of Canada on behalf of the Department of Indian Affairs, oversaw every aspect of life on reserve. Dependents of Indigenous soldiers who died during the war received pay for their sacrifice like everyone else. However, they were closely monitored by Indian Agents in how to spend these funds, unlike any other dependents.
“The department is dealing with more than three hundred and fifty individual cases of military estates, pensions and assigned pay. This work has involved keeping close track of the dependents of Indian soldiers. In many cases, where the department thought that the pension or assigned pay might not be judiciously expended, it has administered the money for them.” –Duncan Campbell Scott, Deputy Superintendent of the Department of Indian Affairs [1]
[1] Department Of Indian Affairs. Annual Report of the Department of Indian Affairs for the Year Ended March 31 1919. 1 George V Sessional Paper No. 27 ed. Printed by Order of Parliament Ottawa, J. De Labroquerie Tache Printer to the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, 1920. Page 35.