Douglas insists that Indigenous people be treated as equal subjects to the crown and enacts the right of Indigenous people to obtain land outside of reserves through fee simple purchase or pre-emption. Douglas’ policy attempts to promote the assimilation of Indigenous people into colonial society and economy, though the policy is largely unsuccessful because of the prohibitive costs and bureaucratic barriers.

Harris, R. Cole. Making Native Space: Colonialism, Resistance, and Reserves in British Columbia. (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2002), 35-36.