Federal Government Recognizes Difficult Status Card Application Process & Acknowledges OneFeather as Problem-Solver

The Status Card Process Struggle is Real

With an access-to-information request to Indigenous Services Canada, The Globe and Mail has received documents that indicate barriers for First Nations peoples to apply for Indian Status and to receive a Secure Status Card.

The documents indicate that these barriers are by design, creating an inaccessible, lengthy, and confusing process for folks navigating these services.

OneFeather has been working with Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) since 2020 in order to help remove barriers for folks in renewing and replacing their status cards and their dependents via our online service. Our service helps people create an submit their applications for a Secure Status Card in the same way people use services to create and file their tax returns online.

The Need for Speed

We’ve been working with ISC to speed things up for folks who use our online service, and have made the process more secure by:

• Submitting applications digitally (this leaves no room for paper applications that can get lost in the mail!)
• Checking each application for accuracy and working with the applicant to ensure their individual application is approved by ISC

With a 98% success rate and 25,000+ status cards applications started so far, we are constantly looking for ways to make it easier for our applicants to obtain their entitlements.

Our help guide is a great resource for a hand to get started on renewing or replacing a status card.

“Why Can't We Offer the Same Service OneFeather Does?”

Ottawa's federal government openly admits in its documents that the process is unnecessarily arduous, and mentions us at OneFeather as a key solution for First Nations status card applicants. As The Globe and Mail article reports:

The April, 2022, draft memo points to OneFeather – an Indigenous tech company that for about $20 submits secure status card applications on its customers’ behalf, after reviewing them for issues. The company receives its customers’ documents online. Otherwise, applicants must print their documents and mail them out, or drop them off in person.

“OneFeather’s existence implies that people need help to apply and reinforces the idea that government is too complex, perhaps intentionally so,” the memo reads.

And it continues: “Why can’t we offer the same service OneFeather does?”

OneFeather's mission is to to provide Indigenous Peoples with safe, barrier free access to their rights and entitlements. This article is a clear confirmation that the work we're doing with online status card applications is helping to push things forward both internally at Indigenous Services Canada, and for the folks who are applying for their status card with OneFeather's help.

Reporting like this helps create transparency and accountability that will result in a better future for all.