Even in geographic isolation, any rich resources found on traditional FN lands were extracted by industry and the profits shipped south to major centres, which  did not benefit the  local FN communities. The Reserve system was created to contain and control, while allowing vast lands to become Crown lands, sold to non-native newcomers. Under the Indian Act today, status Indians continue to be wards of the government, with health care decisions and funding being federally controlled and managed from a downstream disease focus rather than upstream prevention and education.  My experience with Health Canada's FNIHB dental health coverage for First Nation families in B.C. was that it created worse outcomes and higher disease rates by not funding early prevention strategies and family education.