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1985
The Lavell case at the Supreme Court caused the removal of Section 12 from the Indian Act. This change now allows Native women to marry non-Natives while retaining their status and rights to own or inherit family land. Additionally, they can actively engage in band councils, political matters, and social activities within their communities. I see this as +2 progress. -
1990
Mohawk warriors set up barricades to protect their land from a golf course expansion near Oka, Quebec. The land is a Mohawk burial ground. Due to this fact, violence erupts between Mohawk and provincial police and the army is called in. The golf course is never built. -2 progress. -
1992
Elijah Harper, a Cree member of the Manitoba Legislature, stood against the Meech Lake Accord because it did not acknowledge Indigenous rights in the Canadian Constitution. By rejecting the accord, he forced the provinces and the federal government to go back to negotiations. The Meech Lake Accord was the government's effort to get Quebec to agree to the updated Constitution after Quebec did not sign it in 1992. +2 progress. -
1995
After years of sending letters, Stoney Point and Kettle First Nations community members marched into Ipperwash Provincial Park in Ontario, demanding the return of the land taken by the government in 1942 for a training camp. The government had pledged to return the land after the war. During the protest, Dudley George was fatally shot by the OPP, while two others were wounded. The land was eventually given back in 2007. -1 progress. -
1996
After a five-year period, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples released its findings. Originating in 1991 following the Oka crisis, the Commission comprised four Indigenous and three non-Indigenous commissioners. The key outcome of the report was the need for a complete change in the relationship between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in Canada. This new relationship would respect Aboriginal cultures and values and its history. Level 1 progress. -
1998
The Nisga'a people make history by signing a treaty with the governments of British Columbia and Canada, resolving a land claim on more than 2000 square kilometers of land. Level 2 progress -
1999
Nunavut is created as a new territory in Canada, characterized by a predominantly Inuit population and official languages of Inuktitut and English. Politically, Nunavut boasts its legislative assembly with authority similar to other federal territories and its own Supreme Court. Level 2 progress. -
2006
The Six Nations (Haudenosaunee) put up barricades around a housing development near Caledonia, Ontario, seeking recognition of their land title that was revoked in the 1840s. The Ontario government buys the housing development and enforces a construction ban. Some land claims are settled in 2008. In 2011, the province awards local residents and businesses $20 million in settlement of a class-action lawsuit for the disruption caused by the protest, but the land claims remain unsettled -2 Progress -
2008
Shannen Koostachin, a 14-year old girl from Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario, meets Indian Affairs minister Chuck Strahl to request a new school that is "safe and comfy" for her community but faces rejection. The construction of the school is planned to be completed by the 2013-14 school year. 0 progress -
2010
Canada gives its support to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a document it had previously resisted since its inception in 2007. +2 progress. -
2012
The Idle No More Movement mobilizes through social media to urge everyone to participate in a peaceful revolution, respecting Indigenous sovereignty and safeguarding the land and water. Demonstrations like circle dances and rail blockades occur nationwide, addressing a variety of concerns. +1 progress. -
2015
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission issues its final report, focusing on activities at residential schools and their harmful effects on First Nations children. Murray Sinclair, Manitoba's first Aboriginal associate chief justice, led the commission. The report includes 94 "Calls to Action" to address the legacy of residential schools and promote Canadian reconciliation. +1 progress.