THREAD: In light of the situation in Nova Scotia concerning Mi’kmaq fishing rights, take time to learn about past landmark rulings on Indigenous treaties and the fishing, hunting, and land use rights they protect. Visit the @CdnEncyclopedia articles to learn more about each case.

In 1927, Mi’kmaq Grand Chief Gabriel Sylliboy was arrested in Nova Scotia for hunting out of season. In his court case, R. v. Sylliboy (1928), he argued that the 1752 Peace and Friendship Treaty protected his rights to hunt & fish. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sylliboy-case

In 1985, when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in R. v. Simon — another case concerning Mi’kmaq hunting rights — it found that the 1752 treaty did in fact give Mi’kmaq people the right to hunt on traditional territories, vindicating Simon and Sylliboy. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sylliboy-case#TheSimonCaseanditsImpact

The R. v. Sioui case (1990) changed the way that Indigenous treaties are interpreted in Canadian courts of law. Courts must deduce the true “spirit and intent” of the treaty from the Indigenous perspective as opposed to a literal reading of the text. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sioui-case

R. v. Sparrow (1990) was the first Supreme Court of Canada case to test section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. Initially convicted of fishing illegally, Musqueam man Ronald Edward Sparrow was cleared and his ancestral right to fishing was upheld. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sparrow-case

In the R. v. Van der Peet case (1996), the Supreme Court of Canada defined and restricted what constitutes Indigenous rights, as previously defined by the R. v. Sparrow case (1990). It created the Van der Peet test to prove an Indigenous right. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/van-der-peet-case

In 1993, Donald Marshall Jr. was convicted on charges of fishing out of season and without a licence. In 1999, the Supreme Court recognized the hunting and fishing rights promised in the Peace and Friendship Treaties and reversed Marshall's convictions. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/marshall-case

Indigenous treaties in Canada are constitutionally recognized agreements between the Crown and Indigenous peoples. Learn more about the history, complexity and impact of treaty-making and treaty interpretation on the @CdnEncyclopedia: https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/aboriginal-treaties