Mohawk Family Hopes to Reclaim Identity in Canadian Court

ID:	HARP-281
Title:	Mohawk Family Hopes to Reclaim Identity in Canadian Court
Source:	Cultural Survival Quarterly, Issue 26.4, http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/csq/print/article_print.cfm?id=496F35BA-3790-431D-AE00-5A40670AEAD0
Parties:
Dispute Resolution Organ:
Year:	2002
Pages:	0
Author(s):
Keywords:	Canada, culture, discrimination, equality before the law, gender equality, human rights, woman, United Nations, civil and political rights, educational rights, minority rights
Abstract:	Under the terms of the Indian Act, prior to 1985, among other things, Perron lost her rights to own property, reside on the reserve, pass on Indian status to her children, vote in reserve elections, receive medical and educational benefits, and one day be buried on the reserve. Separated from the community, she was also isolated from her culture. Women pressured the Canadian government for years to change this policy. Sandra Lovelace, a Maliseet, argued her case internationally and in 1981 effectively embarrassed the Canadian government when the United Nations Human Rights Committee ruled in her favor. The government responded with the 1985 amendment Bill C-31, which restored Indian status to women like Perron and allowed women married to non-status men after 1985 to maintain their status. But the bill still did not entirely correct the situation.
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