 In 1960, First Nations people received the right to vote in federal elections without forfeiting their Indian status.By comparison, Native Americans in the United States had been allowed to vote since the 1920s.In his 1969 White Paper, then-Minister of Indian Affairs, Jean Chrétien, proposed the abolition of the "Indian Act" of Canada, the rejection of Aboriginal land claims, and the assimilation of First Nations people into the Canadian population with the status of "other ethnic minorities" rather than as a distinct group.