First Nations

January 1, 1975

Progress has been slow, but Canada's Aboriginal peoples have much to be hopeful for. They, like any other citizen, have won the right to vote in elections.

Courts are beginning to recognize treaty rights. A judge has ruled that Aboriginal people may hunt out of season on ancestral grounds unless a specific law prohibits it. In addition, although the Nisga'a lost their land claims case for the Nass Valley, the Court now recognizes the concept of Aboriginal rights.

The Supreme Court of Canada has also ruled that an Aboriginal woman does not lose her Indian status simply because she has married a non-status-Indian. It has struck down the law that prevents an Aboriginal person from possessing alcohol outside of a reserve.

Non-Aboriginal parents may adopt Aboriginal children without impairing the children's status as a registered Indian.

Although poverty, alcoholism and violence still stalk native reserves, there are signs of rebirth. Aboriginal tradition of stewardship of the land offers much of value to the environmental movement, and the wisdom of Canada's first peoples is beginning to be recognized.