PRIOR TO EUROPEAN INFLUENCE 

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18,000-10,000 BCE

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• Archeological evidence of humans in the northern half of North America, including in the Tanana River Valley (Alaska), Haida Gwaii (British Columbia), Vermilion Lakes (Alberta), and Debert (Nova Scotia).

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10,000-200 BCE 

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• Indigenous settlements and communities spread throughout what is now Canada. 

• Religious, artistic, and literary practices are established and are unique to each community. 

• Economic, social and political structures are established. 

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2300 - 1000 BCE

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• Agricultural practices are established.

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500 - 1200

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• communities in the interior plains invoke treaties to share their territory with humans and non-human beings. 

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1450

 

• The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, organized by Dekanahwideh and Hiawatha, attempts to resolve the disputes between the communities in the lower Great Lakes region. 

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AFTER EUROPEAN INFLUENCE 

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1493

 

• The Inter caetera is published by Pope Alexander VI without consulting the Indigenous nations. It authorized Spain and Portugal to colonize the Americas and granted them the power to have authority over the Indigenous peoples. 

1537

 

• In the Sublimis Deus, Pope Paul III states that all Indigenous people are human and that they should not be enslaved. He also states that they should be converted into the Roman Catholic faith. 

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1600

 

• Trade alliances between the Indigenous people and European settlers was established. The Indigenous people had a deeper knowledge of hunting, trapping, guiding, food, and disease prevention, which was crucial to the survival of the Europeans. This trade also gave the First Nations access to European weaponry and goods. 

• Tuberculosis, smallpox, and measles from the Europeans spread to the First Nation communities. 

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1609

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• Samuel de Champlain expired the Haudenosaunee territory. He found a great lake, now known as Lake Champlain, by traveling the Rivière des Iroquois

• Samuel de Champlain and his Indigenous allies attack the Haudenosaunee on Lake Champlain. Thus starting 150 years of war between the Iroquois and the French.

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1613 

 

• The Two Row Wampum Treaty between Haudenosaunee Confederacy and European representatives establishes the Covenant Chain. The Covenant Chain was a complex system of alliances between the Haudenosaunee and Anglo-American colonies. It allowed the groups to work toward peace  and economic, political, and cultural sovereignty. 

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1615

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• The first European missionaries, Récollets and Jesuits, arrive to convert Indigenous populations to Catholicism. 

• Samuel de Champlain has his third battle with the Haudenosaunee on Lake Onanadaga

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1649

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• Jesuit missionaries, Jean de Brébeuf and Charles Lalemant, were executed by the Haudenosaunee.

• The settlement of the Huron-Wendat, an Indigenous tribe that resides on the north shore of Lake Ontario, was destroyed by the Haudenosaunee. 

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1660

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• To prevent Iroquois’ plans to pace a siege on Montreal,  Adam Dollard des Ormeaux led a small group through the  Ottawa River and attempted to ambush the Iroquois

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1670

 

• The Hudson’s Bay company was established.

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1677

 

• The Silver Covenant Chain Treaty was established between Britain and the Haudenosaunee. It represented open and honest communication, as well as granted support in case of war. 

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1689 

 

• Lachine, a city in Quebec was attacked by 1,500 Haudenosaunee because they considered the French a threat to their security and territory. 

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1690

 

• The Haudenosaunee established a peace treaty with the English settlers and nations on the Great Lakes. 

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1701

 

• The Great Peace of Montreal was signed by three dozen indigenous groups and the French Colonial Government. It ended the century of war between the Haudenosaunee and French. 

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1756 - 1763 

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• The Seven Year War began in 1756. The war was the first global war which was caused by Austria attempting to regain the province of Silesia, which had been taken by Prussia. Prussia was allied with Hanover and Great Britain. Meanwhile, Austria was allied with France, Russia and Sweden. The fight for supremacy between the French and British is what provoked the involvement of the French and British. The French, British, and Spanish battled over colonies in the New World. The fight for colonies in the New World also concerned the First Nations, this resulted in treaties between the First Nations and Britain to be established. Prussia fought against Austria, France, Russia and Sweden for Silesia. 

• In 1760, the Huron Treaty was signed between the Huron-Wendat and British as an alliance for the war. It also allowed the Huron-Wendat to receive safe passage, free exercise of religion, local government and justice. 

• In 1760, the Treaty of Oswegatchie was signed by the Haudenosaunee and the British. It forced the Haudenosaunee to remain neutral in the Seven Year War. It prevented conflict with the British and allowed them to keep their lands. 

• The Seven Years War ended with two treaties; the Treaty of Hubertusburg, which granted Silesia to Prussia and the Treaty of Paris between France, Spain and Great Britain. The Treaty of Paris drew colonial lines largely in favor of the British. The end of the war in February of 1963 also led the British king, George III, to invoke a new law called the Royal Proclamation of 1763. It states that why land not under the control of the British in North America belonged to the Indigenous people. The indigenous people were free to live on this land or sell it back to the government. This meant that only the British government could buy land and make treaties with the Indigenous nations. Even today, the relationship between the Canadian government and the First Nations is dependent on this law. 

• In May of 1763, the Pontiac’s Resistance, an alliance between multiple Indigenous groups, led by Chief Obwandiyag tried to resist European occupation by attacking the English settlers and soldiers in the lower Great Lakes region. 

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1766

 

• The Pontiac’s Treaty was signed and ended the uprising led by Chief Obwandiyag. 

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1769

 

• Chief Obwandiyag was ostracized by his own settlement as well as others because he claimed to have more power than he actually did. This led to his banishment. He was later assassinated by a Peoria warrior. 

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1784

 

• The Haldimand Proclamation granted land to the Haudenosaunee Six Nations who had served on the British side during the American Revolution.

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1791

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• The British begin coastal exploration to extend the fur trade. 

• Haida Chief Koyah Organizes First Attacks on the British

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1811

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• The Battle of Tippecanoe took place when William Henry Harrison, governor of the Indiana Territory, attacked Tecumseh's Western Confederacy at the Shawnee village of Prophetstown, Indiana. The Tecumseh entered an alliance with Britain to prevent American expansion into their lands.

1812

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• British attempts to restrict U.S. trade, the Royal Navy’s impressment of American seamen and America’s desire to expand its territory, ultimately started the war of 1812. 

• In June of 1812, the war of 1812 was fought between the United States and Britain, alongside their corresponding Indigenous allies. Indigenous people were involved because they had to defend their territory from being taken over by the Americans or British. This led to nations forming alliances with whatever government they supported. For the indigenous communities, this war was for their land, independence, and culture.

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1814

 

• The Treaty of Ghent was signed by the United States and Britain in Belgium. This brought an end to the war by 1815. 

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1829

 

• Shawnadithit, the last member of the Beothuk,  was captured by English furriers in 1823. She died of tuberculosis in 1829. Her drawings and descriptions were the last records of the Beothuk people. 

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1831

 

• The first Residential School was opened in Brantford, Ontario. It was run by the Anglican Church. At first only boys were admitted but by 1834, girls started being accepted. 

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1837

 

• A boat belonging to an American fur Company arrives at Fort Union and sparks a smallpox outbreak in the prairies, killing an estimated three-quarters of the Blackfoot, Blood, Peigan, Sarcee and Assiniboine peoples.

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1845

 

• The Bagot Report proposes the assimilation of indigenous children into Euro-Canadian society through parental separation and residential schools. It also impacted indigenous citizens legal status as it forced them to choose between being labeled as an Aboriginal or Citizen. It also prohibited the sale of alcohol to Indigenous people and shifted the administration of native affairs from the British Colonial Office to Canada

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1850

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• First Nations and Métis people, led by white businessman Allan Macdonell, attacked the Mica Bay company's mining installations near Lake Superior, in a dispute over mining rights in the area. Tensions between the Indigenous people and the European settlers were high because the government was not willing to compensate for taking the land from the Indigenous people and the resource allocation was unfair. 

• The Mica Bay incident, alongside the ongoing tensions between the Indigenous and Europeans for claims to the land surrounding Lake Superior, led to the Robinson Treaties. Majority of the treaties up until this time were focused in the area near the southern Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, this was the first major treaty in other parts of Canada. 

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1857 

 

• The Gradual Civilization Act was passed to try and assimilate Indigenous communities into Euro-Canadian culture. The act sought to terminate the Indian status and allow indigenous people to convert to a fully canadian citizenship. However, only one person changed their status. 

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1864

 

• In 1861, a trail was formed in  the Bella Coola Valley through Tsilhqot'in territory to allow Canadians to access developing gold mines in the east. This caused tensions between the miners and Tsilhqot'in. In protest, a group of Tsilhqot’in killed several workers on the trail. This incident is also known as the Chilcotin War of 1864. Six Tsilhqot'in were eventually tried and executed for these killings.

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1867  

 

• Canada gained independence and under the Constitution Act, the federal government takes authority over First Nations and their land. 

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1869

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• Rupert’s land which was a territory near the Hudson Bay was controlled by the Hudson’s Bay Company. The company alongside its vast fur trade was responsible for many Indigenous as well as European settlements being employed and contributing to the economy. As the company grew, it was inappropriate for it to rule over such a vast territory and it was forced to sell the land to either Canada or the United States. However, since Britain was pressuring them to not sell to the United States, they had to sell their land to Canada. As a result, many Indigenous groups feared losing their sovereignty and culture to the Canadian government and rebelled. The Red River Resistance was led by the Métis and supported by various First Nation groups. While some of the resistance protected the Red River settlement from European settlers and government encroachment, a group of 120 men went to Upper Fort Garry to prevent the transfer of the land. Louis Riel, the leader of the resistance, was hanged for treason, and Cree chiefs Mistahimaskwa and Pitikwahanapiwiyinwere imprisoned. 

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1871

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• The Numbered Treaties were signed between the Crown and the First Nations. It impacted the land between northern Ontario to southern Manitoba, northeastern British Columbia, and the interior Plains of Alberta to the Beaufort Sea. It gave the Canadian government land for industrial development and European settlement. In exchange for the First Nations traditional territory, the government granted special rights to treaty lands and the distribution of cash payments, hunting and fishing tools, and farming supplies, amongst other things. 

• Ongoing disputes about the oral and written terms of the treaties pertaining to land use, fishing and hunting rights, natural resource use, have led to modern land claim issues.

 

• 1871 - Treaty one was between the Crown and the Ojibwe and Swampy Cree Nations. It  included the provision of livestock, agricultural equipment and the establishment of schools in exchange for Indigenous hunting grounds.

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• 1871 - Treaty two was between the Crown and the Chippewa of Manitoba. It forced the Cheppewa to surrender land from the mouth of the Winnipeg River to the northern shores of Lake Manitoba across the Assiniboine River to the United States frontier.

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• 1873 - Treaty three was between the Crown and Saulteaux of northwestern Ontario. It surrendered  55,000 sq. miles to the government. 

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• 1874 - Treaty four was signed by the Cree, Saulteaux bands of the Ojibwa peoples and the Assiniboine, in exchange for payments, provisions and rights to reserve lands. It also surrendered  Indigenous territory to the federal government.

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• 1875 - Treaty five was signed by  the federal government, Ojibwa peoples and the Swampy Cree of Lake Winnipeg. It ceded an area of 100,000 sq. miles inhabited by Chippewa and Maskegon.

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• 1876 - Treaty six was signed by the Plains Cree, Woodland Cree and Assiniboine. It gave the government an area of 120,000 sq. miles. 

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• 1877 - Treaty seven was signed by the Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, Tsuut'ina and Stoney. It surrendered 35,000 sq miles of land to the Crown in return for reserves, payments and annuities.

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• 1899 - Treaty eight was signed by the Cree, Beaver, Chipewyan and Slavey First Nations. It  ceded territory south and west of Great Slave Lake in northern Alberta to the federal government. 

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• 1905 - Treaty nine purchased Cree and Ojibwe land and resources to make way for European settlement and resource development. It contained provisions for cash treaty payments, the creation of reserves, education and hunting, fishing and trapping rights. 

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• 1906 - Treaty ten was signed by the Canadian government and Indigenous peoples in northern Saskatchewan and Alberta. It gave the government 220,000 km of Saskatchewan and Alberta.

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• 1921 - Treaty eleven covers the territory of Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It is still fought over for land claims. 

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1873 

 

• Wolf hunters were looking for a stolen horse and killed twenty  Assiniboine in Cypress Hills. Some of the attackers were tried but none convicted.This event is known as the Cypress Hills Massacre. 

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1876 

 

• The Indian Act was established. It sought to assimilate First Nations into Euro-Candian society. Throughout the years it had multiple amendments made until it was eradicated in 1960. 

  • It forbid First Nations communities from expressing their identities through governance and culture. The Act replaced traditional structures of governance with band council elections. Hereditary chiefs. Until 1951, women were also excluded from band council politics. It also banned certain ceremonial traditions such as potlatch. In 1895, the ban was extended to “any Indian festival, dance or other ceremony.”  In 1914 it prohibited dancing off-reserve, and by 1925, dancing was outlawed entirely.

  • In 1927, it was illegal for First Nations peoples and communities to hire lawyers or bring about land claims against the government without the government’s consent.

  • Between 1894 and 1920, the Act made it a requirement for First Nation children to attend industrial or residential schools. 

  • It restricted the movement of First Nations people off reserves and regulated the sales of goods between the reserve and other entities. This has caused damage to the indigenous economies. 

  • It  defined who was considered an Indian legally. It stated that an Indian was “any male person of Indian blood reputed to belong to a particular band.” The Indian status also applied to any child of someone with an Indian Status or a woman married to someone with an Indian Status. A person lost status if they graduated university, married a non-status person, or became a Christian minister, doctor or lawyer. This type of compulsory enfranchisement was meant to assimilate intelligent and high-earning Indigenous people into Euro-Candadian society. It prevented those who identified as Indian to pursue a higher education without losing their legal identity and thus created a divide between those with the status and without the status. 

  • In 1951, restrictions on ceremonies such as the potlatch and sundance were lifted. Women were also allowed to vote in band council elections. They also gave provinces jurisdiction over Indigenous child welfare which eventually allowed for the “Sixties Scoop” to occur. The amendments changed the concept of gaining Indian Status from blood to gaining it through registration. This meant that having connections to Indigenous heritage did not legally qualify an individual for the Indian Status, they still had to register. The provisions extremely targeted women as their status was dependent on their husband. If they became widowed or separated, they were no longer part of their band or had the status. 

  • The 1951 amendments to the Act also introduced the Double Mother rule which revoked a child’s Indian Status on their twenty-first birthday if the mother and grandmother did not qualify for the status. 

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1877

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• The Plains Indigenous Negotiations took place and the Plains First Nations negotiated seven treaties with the Canadian government. The First Nations understood treaties as alliances of peace and mutual support because it ensured their survival in an uncertain future. However, the Canadian government interpreted the treaties differently and saw them as a means of acquiring land for a transcontinental railway, settlement and agriculture.

   
1883

 

• Sir John A. Macdonald authorizes the creation of the residential school system on a larger scale. 

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1884

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• The Nile Voyageurs, a group of 386 people and Canada's first official participants in an overseas war, set sail for Egypt. The group consisted of  lumbermen, Caughnawaga Indians and Ottawa boatmen under the command of F.C. Denison.

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1885

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• The North West Rebellion was a five month Metis and First Nation uprising in Saskatchewan and Alberta. It was caused by fear of western settlement and development in the area. It left hundreds dead and resulted in a permanent presence of law enforcement in the west. 

• An incident at Frog Lake in Saskatchewan took place during the North-West resistance and people in Chief Mistahimaskwa’s band killed nine European men at Frog Lake.

• Chief Mistahimaskwa surrendered at Fort Carlton and served three years in prison. 

1890 

 

• Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux warrior and chief Tatanka Iyotake, died in a gunfight with American authorities at Standing Rock, South Dakota. They were leading an indigenous resistance against American westward expansion and were seeking refuge in Canada, however they were denied an establishment for a reserve. 

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1906

 

• Chief Joe Capilano of the Squamish Nation met King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra to discuss Indigenous land rights. The meeting was unsuccessful however Capilano still continued to lobby and organize for Indigenous rights in Vancouver. 

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1907 

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• The residential school system was growing and schools were becoming overcrowded which led to an increase in illness. Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce, chief medical officer for Canada’s Department of the Interior and Indian Affairs, admits that enrolled Indigenous children have a mortality rate of twenty-five percent. This number increases to sixty-nine percent when they leave the schools. 

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1914

 

• The First World War begins and 4,000 and 6,000 Indigenous people serve in the Canadian military. Despite this, they are denied veterans’ benefits upon their return 

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1918

 

• The League of Indians is formed to advocate for Indigenous rights. It’s effectiveness was hindered by government harassment, police surveillance, and disagreement among Indigenous groups, however it helped form a base for Indigenous political organizing in the future

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1922

 

• Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce publishes The Story of a National Crime. It exposed the Canadian government’s suppression of information on the health and mistreatment of Indigenous peoples. 

1939

 

• The Second World War begins and 5,000 to 8,000 Indigenous soldiers fight for Canada, yet they still do not receive veterans’s benefits upon return. 

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1940

 

• Prior to the arrival of European settlers, the Inuit did not use family names and children were named by the elders. However, when westerners needed to keep records on things such as trade between themselves and the Inuit, they had no system. To change this, they gave Inuit families discs similar to dog tags and assigned a number to each of them.

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1950 

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• To assimilate Indigenous communities into Euro-Canadian culture and end their nomadic lifestyle, the government began killing sled dogs throughout Northern Quebec.

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1953

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• The federal government coerced  87 Inuit from Inukjuak in northern Québec to Ellesmere and Cornwallis Islands to secure northern territory during the Cold War. Despite being forced to relocate, adequate support for the communities was not given.

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1960

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• After the shutdown of some residential schools, the government allowed Aboriginal children to be taken from their families and placed in foster care. Approximately 16,000 Aboriginal children were displaced from their families, often without consent. Provinces also had adoption programs to support mass assimilation, for example, Saskatchewan has the Adopt an Indian Metis program. This was an attempt at mass assimilation as each province had an adoption program to promote the relocation of Indigenous youth.  It severed the connection children had to their families and prevented exposure to their culture, as most of the adopting families were European, Canadian and American. Consequently, Aboriginal children that were raised by non-Aboriginal families did not adapt well to the new environment as they looked different and had other beliefs enforced onto them. To this day, many families are still not reunited with their stolen children. 

• Status Indians gain the right to vote in federal elections.

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1966

 

• The death of Channie Wenjack publicized the mistreatment of Indigenous in residential schools and led to a trial where an all-White jury finds that residential schools cause tremendous emotional and psychological problems. 

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1968 

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• The Voice of Alberta Native Women's Society was founded by Indigenous activists to advocate for women’s Indian Statuses, which led to Bill C-31. This activist group would evolve into the Native Women's Association of Canada.

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1969

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• The white paper was established to abolish the Indian Act, reserves and transfer the responsibility of Indian affairs to the provinces. It eliminated the Indian status and along with it, the ability of an Aboriginal person to legally identify with their heritage, therefore, forcefully making Aboriginal groups assimilate into Euro-Canadian society. 

• In response, Chief Harold Cardinal wrote the Red Paper and the government later withdrew the proposal after considerable opposition from Indigenous organizations.

• The government gained responsibility for residential schools from the churches. 

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1970

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• To assimilate the Inuit groups into Euro-Candian society, the government initiated Project Surname in which they assigned Cristian last names to Inuit families on metal disks. 

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1971

 

• The Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, later renamed Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, is formed as a national organization advocating for self-government, social, economic, environmental, health, and political welfare, and preservation of language and history for the Inuit in Canada.

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1973

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• Calder vs the British Columbia Attorney General was an important court case as it made way for addressing Aboriginal titles in Canada. 

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1976

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• An anti-sealing campaign led by Greenpeace attacked Inuit practices and led to economic repercussions for Indigenous communities. Greenpeace issued a public apology in 2014. 

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1980

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• The War in the Woods was a large-scale protest by the Tla-o-qui-aht and environmentalists where they fought to protect forests and important watersheds from loggers in Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia. It led to 1000 people being arrested. To this day there are still people advocating to end the privatization of British Columbia’s forests. 

• Canada was approaching full political sovereignty from the crown and Indigenous communities were unhappy with the lack of recognition for Indigenous rights. In protest, a group of activists led by George Manuel, president of the Union of British Columbia’s Indian Chiefs, used two trains in Vancouver to carry one thousand people to Ottawa to publicize concerns that Aboriginal rights would be abolished in the proposed Canadian Constitution. This large-scale protest did not change the government's proposal, however when the international community took notice of the Indigenous protests, the Canadian government agreed to recognize Aboriginal rights within the Constitution. Section 35 recognizes and affirms Aboriginal title and treaty rights. 

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1982 

 

• The Assembly of First Nations is formed as a branch of the National Indian Brotherhood.They aim to promote the interests of First Nations in the realm of self-government, respect for treaty rights, education, health, land, and resources.

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1990

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• A golf course in Oka, Montreal threatened to expand onto Mohawk land. In protest, Mohawk protesters blocked the land in a two month siege that resulted in 2 casualties. They eventually surrendered and the golf course was expanded. 

• Phil Fontaine, Head of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, speaks out against residential schools and the abuse he personally suffered at Fort Alexander Residential School. 

1992

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• The Inuit advocate for the creation of Nunavut and to have some autonomy. In 1999, Nunavut was an official province after the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement was signed. 

1995

 

• As a protest over fishing rights in the area near Douglas Lake Ranch, members of the Upper Nicola First Nations Band made a blockade. They agreed to end the two week long protest to speak to the British Columbian government.

• The Gustafsen Lake Standoff in British Columbia, was a month-long conflict between a group of First Nations and a local rancher  over land rights because the First Nations believed the land was sacred. Eventually the Royal Canadian Mounted Police became involved and the First Nations surrendered. Police charged 14 First Nations people and four non-Indigenous supporters with a total of 60 offences.  A trial in the summer of 1996 also presented that the RCMP had engaged in a campaign of deliberate media disinformation to create a divide between the Indenous communities and Canadian settlements. Ultimately, 21 convictions were held against 15 people. 

1996

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• The Gordon Residential School in Punnichy, Saskatchewan, closed in 1996, it was the last residential school. 

• The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples stated that the Indian Act was oppressive and recognized that the legal term Indian had no relation to having an Indian ancestry. 

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1999

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• The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the lower courts should apply traditional disciplinary practices when sentencing Indigenous people

• The Supreme Court of Canada ruled to open Indigenous band elections to off-reserve band members.

• The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that treaties from the 1760s guaranteed Mi'kmaq rights to fish, hunt and log year round. However, the Mi'kmaq began to fish lobster out of season. Non-Indigenous fishermen destroyed Indigenous fishing equipment, sunk a boat and carried out an armed blockade of the harbour. The conflict ended when the Mi’kmaq agreed to fish for subsistence only.

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2000

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• The house of commons granted the Nisga'a in British Columbia  the right to self-government. The band received 2000 km of land and two-hundred-and-fifty-three million dollars. In return they agreed to pay taxes and relinquish future claims.

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2005

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• The Kelowna Accord was made to ensure health, education, social, and economic improvements for Indigenous peoples. Five billion dollars is promised to the First Nations, however no formal agreement on how to access the money is reached. A federal election is called, and the Accord was not implemented by the new government.

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2007

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• The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement financially compensates survivors, through  the Common Experience Payment. Claims of sexual and physical abuse are addressed independently. The agreement uses financial aid to promote health and healing services.It also establishes funds for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which aimed to preserve the knowledge of these tragedies and educate people on the residential school systems. 

• The United Nations advocated for the Declaration of Indigenous RIghts, Canada voted against it however, 144 states adopted it. The declaration protects their cultural identity and rights to practice their culture, it also grants Indigenous people a right to education and land. 

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2008

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• Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada formally acknowledges Supreme Court rulings on the Crown’s “duty to consult” the First Nations when making decisions that could affect them such as resource allocation. 

• Prime Minister Stephen Harper, on behalf of the Government of Canada, formally apologises to  students, their families, and communities for the residential school system. 

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2009

 

• The Tsawwassen First Nation treaty in British Columbia took effect and provided Indigenous communities in the Lower Mainland region financial support.

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2010

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• Four women start Idle No More as a national movement for Indigenous rights and advocating for self-determination.

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2014

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• Members of the Nipissing First Nation voted in favour of adopting their own constitution to establish their own definition of identity and laws. 

• The Royal Canadian Mounted Police  released the National Operational Review on Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women. They identified 1,181 missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canadian police databases

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2015

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• The Truth and Reconciliation Commission released a summary of the residential school system and deemed it a cultural genocide. 

• The REDress Project was an art exhibit to honor and bring attention to the missing and murdered Indigenous women, it encouraged people to donate red dresses. 

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2016

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• The Supreme Court of Canada rules that the legal definition of “Indian” included Métis and non-status Indians. This ruling did not grant status but it helped facilitate possible negotiations over traditional land rights, access to education and health programs.

• Canada adopted the Declaration of Indigenous rights. 

• Ontario’s premier Kathleen Wynne formally apologizes on behalf of the provincial government for the residential school system and oppressive policies. The province announced a three year investment of $250-million for reconciliation.

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2017 

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• The first steps towards the Sixties Scoop lawsuit were taken when Superior Court judge Edward Belobaba ruled in favour of Sixties Scoop victims and found that the government did not take adequate steps to  protect the cultural identity of on-reserve children taken away from their homes. 

• The Langevin Block in parliament is renamed Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council as form of making amends as the block was named after Sir Hector-Louis Langevin who had a major role in the residential school systems.

• The Chippewa appealed to the Supreme Court to resolve an issue with a pipeline being built in their territory. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that while the government has to consult Indigenous communities for resource development projects, the Indigenous communities cannot veto any projects. 

• In 1956, the Sayisi Dene were forcibly relocated from an area near Little Duck Lake, into the outskirts of Churchill. In 2017 the Sayisi Dene reclaimed part of their traditional territory when the Manitoba government gave them an area near Little Duck Lake to turn into a reserve. The Indigenous Affairs minister, Carolyn Bennett,  also issued a formal apology to survivors on behalf of the federal government.

• The Energy East Pipeline Project was cancelled. It was regarded as a victory for the First Nations as the project ran along some of their land, close to their homes. 

• The federal government announced an eight-hundred million dollar settlement for the Sixties Scoop survivors. Financial compensation was to start reconciliation. 

• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologizes to the Survivors of residential schools in Newfoundland and Labrador because they were excluded in Stephen Harper’s 2008 apology since they were not run by the federal government and were established before Newfoundland joined the Confederation in 1949. Survivor Toby Obed accepted Trudeau’s apology on behalf of his community. However, Gregory Rich, Innu Nation Grand Chief, did not accept the apology because it was too narrow. 

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2018

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• On 26 March, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau exonerated the Tsilhqot'in chiefs of any wrongdoing.

• On 2 November 2018, Trudeau formally apologized for the incident. 

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2019 

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• The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had to arrest 14 protestors because they were blocking the way of construction for the British Columbian pipeline protest. 

• Bill C-369 was passed to make September 30 a statutory holiday called “National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.” The holiday is also known as “Orange Shirt Day.” The holiday is meant to honor those who were forced into residential schools. 

• A papermill near the Grassy Narrows First Nation settlement was polluting the water with mercury for over 50 years. 90% of the population suffers from some degree of mercury poisoning yet the government response has been feeble. Indigenous Services Minister Seamus O’Regan met with Grassy Narrows but no deal was agreed upon. The government put out a press release ahead of the service minister’s visit for  a signing ceremony to take place but no agreement was made. In addition, no financial compensation was given to the community to help cover the cost of medicine.  

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2020

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• An indigenous woman, Joyce Echaquan,  was admitted to the hospital in Quebec for stomach pains where the hospital staff was racially and verbally abusive. They also gave her a high dosage of morphine despite her allergies to the substance. Joyce Echaquan began streaming her experience on Facebook and sparked an online response as well as protests. Systemic racism against the Indigenous community is thought to have led to her death. 

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2021 

 

• The Indigenous community suffers from high rates of pre-existing health conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, obesity and asthma, which all weaken the body against covid-19. The Indigenous community has very high mortality rates for covid because of this and yet they are not receiving any additional help or resources. There are 58 communities under a boil water advisory across the country, and many living on reserve do not have access to consistent health care, adequate housing or dependable social services. This makes isolation difficult and treatment very hard to access.