Ottawa Expands Indian Status Definition

Ottawa Expands Indian Status Definition

Tuesday, June 02, 2009 at 14:18

Descendants of Native women who married non-Native men will soon be eligible for Indian status, as the federal government has decided not to appeal a landmark court ruling that gives that right.

Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl announced today that the Indian Act will be revised in light of the B.C. Court of Appeal’s ruling in the case of Sharon McIvor.

McIvor launched a civil lawsuit in 1989 in a bid to acquire Indian status for herself and her son, saying that Section 6 of the Indian Act — which sets out the rules for status eligibility — was discriminatory because it treated the children of Indian women who married non-Indian men differently than those of Indian men who married non-Indian women.

Strahl promised to “move quickly” to begin the legislative process to revise the Act.

The change has the potential to affect thousands of non-status Aboriginal people across the country.