It was a good year to be Indigenous

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AKWESASNE-After twice failing to convince a court that Canada's border should be a barrier to Indigenous people who carry on small scale trade for personal or community use, the federal government decided to take the Mitchell case to the Supreme Court for a final decision. The case dates back to the first court decision in June 1997 in which a judge ruled that Mike Mitchell, a leader of the Akwesasne First Nation in Quebec, would not have to pay $361.64 in duties that Customs officials had billed him after he carried a load of goods across the border into Canada from the United States. The judge ruled Mohawks had a constitutionally-protected Aboriginal right to freely cross a border that was drawn through their traditional territory by the colonial powers. The judge's decision limited the protection for the duty-free importation of goods to those used for personal and community use.

KAMLOOPS-Jones William Ignace, known across Canada as Wolverine, was released from custody on Feb. 4 having been incarcerated since 1995 for his role in the month-long occupation of ranchland at Gustafsen Lake, B.C. Ignace was convicted of willful mischief endangering life by obstructing lawful operation of property, (the James cattle ranch) valued in excess of $5,000; discharging firearms at peace officers; and assaulting peace officers with a firearm. He claimed during the trial that the Gustafsen Lake defendants were upholding Aboriginal rights on unceded Aboriginal land and that the RCMP, who exchanged fire with him and other demonstrators, were the real law breakers. That argument was rejected. "Although granted parole, I am not free," said Ignace upon his release. "Shuswap territory is not free. Lil'wat territory is not free. Turtle Island is not free. Mother Earth and her peoples are not free."

EDMONTON- The Alberta government's Limitations Act took effect on March 1 and people who were contemplating a lawsuit against the province for harm they may have suffered in residential schools were made aware that the clock was ticking down on the deadline for legal claims against the provincial Crown.

IQALUIT-A new territory for Canada and a new way of doing things for the people of the eastern Arctic was celebrated when Canada officially split the Northwest Territories on April 1 to create Nunavut. The process that started in the 1970s towards the Nunavut land claim involved difficult negotiations. The population of the new territory is about 25,000 people of which 80 per cent is Inuit.

SECHELT-It was history in the making on April 16 when the Sechelt band signed its treaty agreement-in-principle, completing stage 5 in the six-stage treaty making process in British Columbia. The Sechelt band is the first First Nation of more than 50 First Nations involved in the treaty process to reach stage 5. The agreement includes provisions for taxes, land and cash, and resource management.

OTTAWA-The top court of Canada awarded custody of a three-year-old boy of Aboriginal heritage to a non-Native couple in their 70s, ruling an Appeals court decision to award custody of the boy to the Aboriginal grandparent over-stepped the limits of the court's powers. The decision, which was final and binding, saw the child move from his biological family's home on Manitoba's Sagkeen First Nation to his adoptive family's home in Connecticut. The case re-affirms case law that states the best interest of the child, determined largely by the comparative income and financial stability of the competing parties, is paramount in custody fights. Some believe the protection of cultural heritage should also be a consideration.

WINNIPEG-Carrying banners reading "Help us with jobs not Welfare" and "We need better housing now," 500 Aboriginal protesters converged on the Manitoba legislative building during its opening ceremonies. The protesters stormed the front entrance of the building only to be blocked by security personnel and a platoon of riot policemen inside. Seeral protesters managed to scale barricades and force their way into the lobby, and police responded with pepper spray and arrested nearly a dozen protesters.

VANCOUVER-Good faith negotiations were made a legal requirement, not just a moral one, after the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled in its Luuxhon decision on the way Canada and the province conducted negotiations related to land claims that overlap territory covered in the Nisga'a Final Agreement. Gitanyow hereditary chiefs asked the court for a declaration that the law requires governments to bargain in good faith during treaty negotiations. Both Canada and British Columbia fought the request.

OTTAWA-The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a part of section 77 of the Indian Act violates the equality provision contained in section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Corbiere decision maintains that band members living off reserve must be allowed a substantive voice in the affairs on reserve, including the right to vote on major decisions. The court gave the Canadian government 18 months to create a way to conform to the ruling.

EDMONTON-Rapheal Cree, a 106-year-old Elder from northern Alberta, presented the regional director of Indian Affairs a copy of a statement of claim that outlined about $1.6 billion in damages suffered by the Paul Cree Band. The Elder, the son of Paul Cree, the chief of the band after whom it is named, delivered the statement of claim that seeks damages for the unlawful removal of natural resources from the band's land, and damages for breach of the Treaty 8 adhesion. Treaty 8 was signed in 1899, and Rapheal Cree stood with his family and his people while his uncle, Chief Seapotakinum, touched the pen on behalf of his band to signify the signing of an adhesion to Treaty 8 a year later.

OTTAWA-The Federal Court of Appeal ruled that a Native woman who works for a reserve-based company doesn't have to pay income tax, even though she lives and works off reserve. TheShilling case decided whether a Native person who lives off reserve has the same right to be tax-exempt as an on-reserve First Nations person. The federal government will appeal to the Supreme Court.

OTTAWA-Convictions against Donald Marshall, Jr. for illegal fishing were erased when the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its decision on whether or not a centuries-old treaty gave East Coast Aboriginal fishermen the right to catch and sell fish. The decision saw Aboriginal fishermen take to the water to exercise that right. It also saw a violent non-Native backlash against the fishermen. The Canadian government asked the Supreme Court for clarification of the decision, which some had taken to mean unrestricted fishing rights. The Supreme Court clarified, saying the Aboriginal right was subject to reasonable restrictions, such as conservation measures.