Mi'kmaw History - Timeline (Post-Contact) [proxy]

YEAR	HISTORICAL EVENT
1398	According to Scottish legend, Earl Henry Sinclair journeys across the Atlantic to Nova Scotia, anchors in Guysborough Harbour, stays for a year, then returns home. There is a great deal of controversy about this claim.
1490	Fishermen from Bristol are frequenting the Maritimes
1493	Pope Alexander VI�s "Inter caetera" Bull divides the new world between Spain and Portugal
1497	Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) claims Cape Breton Island (Newfoundland? Labrador?) for England. He brings back evidence of inhabitants, but claimed to meet none.
1498	Caboto and 4 ships lost enroute to North America
1500	Gaspar Corte Real (Portugal) explores east coast, and takes native (possibly Mi'kmaq) slaves; ship is lost at sea
1521	Jo�o �lvares Fagundes (Portugal) attempts a settlement in the Maritimes - the final outcome is not known for certain.
1524	Giovanni da Verrazano (Florence) and Esteban G�mez (Portugal) explore Acadia - G�mez reportedly takes 58 natives from Maine or NS, and Verrazano takes one.
1534	Jacques Cartier explores Gulf of St. Lawrence - briefly trades with Mi'kmaq in Bay of Chaleur
1537	Papal bull "Sublimis Deus Sic Dilexit" of Pope Paul III states Native peoples were "veritable men capable of reasoning and receiving divine grace", that they were not to be annihilated as adversaries or reduced to slavery, "like poor beasts of burden."
1540	French Bretons fishing off coast of Acadia, due to crowding on Grand Banks
1566	Italian cartographer Paolo Forlani produces a map of North America which first shows L'arcadia (Acadia) and includes the name "Canada". (The map is sometimes inaccurately accredited to Bolognini Zaltieri.)
1581	Organized fur trade begins, a private venture of Breton and Norman merchants.
1588	Henry III of France grants North American fur trade monopoly to consortium of French merchants to secure his hold on the French throne.
1603	Sieur de Monts obtains charter to all the land lying between 40th-46th degree north latitude. Samuel de Champlain publishes 'Les Sauvages', about the natives he met during his explorations
1604	The French over-winter on an island in the St. Croix River, Maine; many die of scurvy and frostbite.
1605	The French move to what will become Nova Scotia, and Port Royal, the first permanent French settlement in North America, is founded.
1606	Marc Lescarbot's first contact with the Mi'kmaq. He writes the earliest detailed records of Mi'kmaw life.
1607	Fur trade rivalry leads to Tarrateen War between the Mi'kmaq and the Abenaki - it will last 8 years.
1608	French abandon most of their posts in Acadia and Maine in favour of lucrative fur trading opportunities in Qu�bec.
1610	The Concordat Wampum Belt with the Vatican is created, affirming the Mi'kmaw right to choose Catholicism, Mi'kmaw tradition, or both. Kjikeptin Pesamoet spends a year in France and realizes that good relations with a large number of French settlers would mean accepting and protecting the Catholic religion. Kjisaqmaw Maupeltuk is credited with being the first Indigenous North American to be baptized as a sign of alliance and friendship. He takes the name Henri Membertou, and claims to be 100 years old at this time.
1611	Kjisaqmaw Maupeltuk (Membertou) dies. On his deathbed he refuses to go to the Christian heaven, because he wants to be with the rest of his relatives.
1615	Mi'kmaw warriors sweep south through the Abenaki villages in Maine, kill leader Onemechin, and end the Tarrateen War.
1617	Mi'kmaw warriors returning from Maine bring plagues that kill almost three-quarters of the Mi'kmaw population.
1620	Census puts Mi'kmaw population at about 4000, from pre-contact population estimated at 35,000.
1621	James I of England grants Acadia to Sir William Alexander, who renames it New Scotland (Nova Scotia)
1627	Compagnie des Cent-Associ�s (Company of One Hundred Associates) is founded to establish a French Empire in North America
1629	St. Anne's Chapel established by Jesuit missionary Barth�lemy Vimont at Vieux Point. St. Anne is adopted by the Mi'kmaq as their patron saint.
1631	Charles de la Tour builds Fort La Tour (a.k.a. Fort Saint Marie) at the mouth of the Saint John River
1632	British lose control of Acadia due to the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye Isaac de Razilly sails from France with 300 people hoping to establish a permanent French settlement in Acadia Capuchins establish a school at LeHave for Mi'kmaw children.
1667	France, England and the Netherlands sign the Breda Treaty, and with this, England gives Acadia to France
1675	Abenaki drawn into the King Philip's War with the New England colonists.
1676	Father Chr�tien Le Clercq began his work in Gaspesia. He was the first to use ideographic (so-called 'hieroglyphic') characters to teach the Mi'kmaq. Maritime Indigenous Nations re-organized into the Waponahkiyik (Wabanaki Confederacy). Its major members included the Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, and Abenaki. In Dover, New Hampshire, Major-General Richard Waldron invites 400 Wabanaki delegates to a peace conference. Once there, the delegates are captured, 8 are hanged and many more are sold into slavery.
1689	The Mi'kmaq, Penobscot, and Maliseet attack the frontier towns in Maine and New Hampshire; Maj-Gen Waldron killed. Sixteen other English forts in New England are also destroyed. The English declare war on all "Eastern Indians" and offer a bounty on scalps. The English, with the help of the Kanien'keh�:ha (Mohawk), attack the Wabanaki settlements on the Kennebec and Penobscot rivers, and the Wabanaki retaliate by attacking New York and Falmouth, Maine. The French encourage the Wabanaki to continue their fight with the English, but provide little support.
1697	Treaty of Ryswick restores the status quo between France & England; Acadia is returned to the French
1699	Treaty executed at Mare's Point in Casco Bay Maine.
1700	Population of Acadia is 1,400
1702	The Queen Anne's War breaks out.
1703	200 Mi'kmaq and 30 Frenchmen attack squatter-settlements along the St. Croix River and the coast of Maine. The English declare war on all Wabanaki nations and offer bounties for their scalps. The Indigenous village of Pigwacket is attacked and destroyed.
1704	An Abenaki raid from Canada destroys Deerfield, Massachusetts.
1705	The French and their Wabanaki allies attack Deerfield, Massachusetts. The English retaliate by attacking and destroying the Indigenous settlement of Norridgewock, Maine. The English raid Mi'kmaq and French settlements along the coast of Nova Scotia.
1710	Port Royal surrendered to General Francis Nicholson; renamed Annapolis Royal. The British use Mohawk warriors to track Mi'kmaw and Abenaki raiders.
1711	First Battle of Bloody Creek, near Annapolis Royal: a small detachment of British soldiers, sent to harass an encampment of Mi'kmaq, find themselves badly outnumbered by recently-arrived Acadian and Penobscot allies, and are beaten.
1713	Treaty of Utrecht cedes French Acadia to England; Mi'kmaw land claims are ignored. Treaty of Portsmouth signed with the St. John River Maliseet, Mi'kmaw and Abenaki Nations. This includes a clause which recognizes that the aboriginal Nations were not to be molested in their lands and were "to enjoy free liberty for hunting, fishing, fowling, and all other lawful liberties and privileges." The Wabanaki regard the Treaty of Portsmouth as the reaffirmation of the Treaty of 1699 at Mare's Point, limiting English settlements to west of the Kennebec River, while the English keep Port Royal (Annapolis Royal). The Mi'kmaq and Maliseet state that Acadia belongs to them, and the French King cannot give it to the English, since he does not own it. The English make efforts to win over the Wabanaki by using superior goods and ceremonial presents for the fur trade. They also try to get the Wabanaki to expel French soldiers and Priests from their villages without much success. The Mi'kmaq don't sign the Treaty of Portsmouth. The English see the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht and the Treaty of Portsmouth as an opportunity to regain the settlements of Saco, Scarborough, and Falmouth, and a new chance to exploit the Wabanaki territories between the Kennebec and St. Croix rivers, in violation of the treaty.
1716	Antoine Gaulin, priest of the S�minaire des Missions �trang�res in Quebec, establishes a mission at Antigonish in order to induce the Mi'kmaq to settle and farm the land.
1717	A church is approved for the Mi'kmaq of Antigonish. Settlement from New England begins to expand northward into Abenaki lands. The French fight back with their Jesuit missionaries (most notably Father Sebastian Rasles), who encourage the Abenaki and Mi'kmaq to resist the encroachment with violence if necessary. Conferences between New England and Abenaki representatives fail to reach any agreement.
1719	The English build Fort George, claiming that the land was deeded to them in 1963 by Penobscot leader Madokawando. The Penobscot deny that the land was ever signed away. The Mi'kmaq and Maliseet refuse to conduct any trade with the British at Annapolis Royal.
1720	The British establish more settlements east of the Kennebec River. The Mi'kmaq respond by harassing settlers and traders all along the frontier, and pillage the fishing settlement of Canso, as well as plundering a number of English trading vessels. The Kennebecs also kill farm animals in the new settlements. In November, the English demand 200 pelts as a payment for damages, as well as 4 Indigenous hostages as a guarantee for future good behaviour by the Kennebecs. Against the advise of their allies, the Kennebecs send 4 hostages to the English, with the understanding that they would be released upon payment of 200 pounds of beaver pelts. When payment is made, the English refuse to release their 4 prisoners because they feel the payment was not a sufficient show of good faith. French settlers from Newfoundland build the massive fortress at Louisbourg, which dominated the entire area, and the Acadian French refuse to sign an oath of loyalty to Great Britain.
1721	Trying to keep the Mi'kmaq at peace, Richard Phillips, the British governor of Nova Scotia, calls a meeting with the Mi'kmaq at Annapolis Royal. Promises are made for increased trade and larger annual presents. The Mi'kmaq, however, are not satisfied with promises and remain restless, keeping the British garrisons in Nova Scotia on constant alert. The Mi'kmaq, Abenaki, Penobscot, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, Innu, Algonquin, and Wendat (Huron) send a letter of ultimatum to the Governor-General of New England demanding the release of the 4 prisoners and a withdrawal of the English from their new settlements along the Kennebec River. The English respond by kidnapping Father Rasles.
1722	The Wabanaki respond to the kidnapping of Rasles by declaring war. A Kennebec war-party captures 9 families at Merrymeeting Bay, but release them all except for 5 men, who are retained as compensation for the 4 hostages held by the English. More than 18 trading vessels around the Bay of Fundy are captured, Brunswick settlement is destroyed, and Georgetown is attacked. Massachusetts declares war on the Wabanaki after several violent confrontations on the New England frontier. Dummer's War, also known as English-Indian War, R�le War or Father Rasles War. Bounties are offered for every Wabanaki scalp brought in, man, woman, or child. 22 Mi'kmaq, while visiting around Annapolis Royal, are taken hostage to the fort.
1723	The Wabanaki surround Annapolis Royal and control most of Maine, and Massachusetts itself is in danger of being taken. That same year, the English attack and destroy the Penobscot village of Old Town, Maine. The English lose a battle at Pigwacket.
1724	A colonial army attacks and burns Kennebec village of Norridgewock on Maine's upper Kennebec River. The British kill and mutilate Father Rasles in this battle, leading to open rebellion in Acadia despite threats of deportation. 50 Mi'kmaq warriors retaliate by attacking the British garrison at Annapolis Royal.
1725	The Abenaki suffer another defeat at the hands of New England during the spring, after which resistance ends. April: Massachusetts sends 3 peace emissaries to Montreal to discuss land issues in return for Peace. The Indigenous people demand that the English abandon the Country from the Saco River to Annapolis Royal. Lt. Governor William Dummer sends peace ambassadors to the Penobscot. The Penobscot Loron and Ahanquid are appointed as spokesmen for the Peace-Treaty by the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet, and a cease-fire is established. July: The Penobscot drop their insistence that the English abandon all settlements as far south as Boston, in return for a comprehensive proposal on Land-Rights for both English and Penobscot. August: The Governors of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia agree to participate in the Boston Peace Conference. November: Four Penobscot leaders, representing the Penobscot, Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, and Kennebec, come to Boston to negotiate a Peace settlement, while William Dummer represents all the British interests. In December, Major Paul Mascarene of Annapolis Royal brings his articles of submission and agreement to the Penobscot delegates. The Penobscot refuse to acknowledge King George's dominion over their territory, for they consider themselves a free people and not bound to any King. Mascarene includes this article in the final agreement anyway. The English recognize Mi'kmaq and Maliseet rights to hunting, fishing, fowling, and planting crops. On December 15, Dummer's Treaty is signed by Dummer and the 4 Penobscot delegates.
1726	Several groups of Mi'kmaq sign the Mascarene's Articles, as do the Maliseet, Penobscot and Passamaquoddy leaders. The Penobscot ratify Dummer's Treaty at Falmouth, Casco Bay, Maine, and promise to bring delegates from other Indigenous Nations to sign. After returning home, the Penobscot dispute the article that implies the Penobscot would join the English to fight other Indigenous Nations if they broke the Peace. The Kennebec and Arresaguntacook sign the Dummer Treaty and agree to fight with the English to keep the Peace.
1727	Because of encroachment, the Mi'kmaq attack the English settlement of Placentia, Newfoundland, as well as a number of ships.
1728	The Maliseet ratify Dummer's Treaty and other Mi'kmaq agree to Peace.
1729	The Government of England orders the rebuilding of the Fort at Pemaquid, and the survey of the lands between the Penobscot and St. Croix rivers for future settlement, in direct violation of Dummer's Treaty. Nova Scotia also claims jurisdiction over lands as far west as the Kennebec River, Maine.
1730	Britain revokes its survey project in order to keep the Peace. The Mi'kmaq prevent the English from building a supply house at Minas, Nova Scotia, saying that King George has no rights there. The Mi'kmaq also burn down a coal-mining operation and settlement at Chignecto.
1735	Abb� Maillard arrives at Louisbourg and begins work on a Mi'kmaw grammar book. Lt. Governor Armstrong of Nova Scotia writes a letter of conciliation to the Maliseet when violence erupts over the issue of land surveyors in the area. A British ship is ransacked by the Cape Sable Mi'kmaq for violations of the Treaty.
1735	The Arrasaguntacook complain to Belcher that the English were not limiting their settlements to the seacoasts as they had agreed in the Peace Treaty. Belcher evades the issue by saying that he can't answer any general complaints, but needs specific examples.
1744	Britain and France go to war again (King George's War.) The Mi'kmaq and Maliseet attack British outposts. May: 300 French soldiers and 200 Wabanaki attack and capture the English fort at Canso, Nova Scotia, capturing 80 English soldiers and burning the fort to the ground. July - September: 300 Mi'kmaw and Maliseet warriors attack Fort Annapolis. The Mi'kmaq and Maliseet succeed in capturing some English soldiers and burning down part of the town of Annapolis, but can't capture the fort. The Government of Massachusetts declares war against the Mi'kmaq and the Maliseet, and offers a bounty for their scalps.
1745	The Massachusetts scalp bounty is extended to include the Penobscot, Kennebec and Passamaquoddy. A 4000 man combined British and colonial army captures Louisbourg in June.
1746	The French Acadians are officially neutral but so open in their sympathy for the Mi'kmaq that Governor Shirley of Massachusetts demands their removal from Nova Scotia. July: Boston sends a raiding party to Prince Edward Island, but is ambushed near York River by 200 Mi'kmaq. The Mi'kmaq suffer an epidemic, which kills 1/3 of their population. The French accuse the British of deliberate infection.
1747	400 French and Mi'kmaw troops attack the English at Grand Pr�, Nova Scotia. The English surrender and are permitted to retreat to Fort Annapolis. France loses Fortress Louisburg to the English.
1748	The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle returns Cape Breton Island to France. The French end their support for the Mi'kmaq on Cape Breton Island, which ends most of the fighting in that vicinity.
1749	Colonel Edward Cornwallis arrives as the new governor of Nova Scotia, and establishes a strongly fortified settlement in Halifax. The English also occupy Minas with troops and a small fort. The Mi'kmaq retaliate by attacking the fort, as well as ships at Canso and Chignecto. Cornwallis offers �10 for every Mi'kmaw scalp or prisoner and dispatches an expedition under Silvanus Cobb to hunt down and kill Mi'kmaq. August: the Maliseet and the Chignecto Mi'kmaq come to Halifax to renew the Dummer's Treaty and Mascarene's Articles. September 29: Treaty of 1749 (Dummer's Treaty and Mascarene's Articles)
1750	Governor Cornwallis sends several hundred men to Chignecto to erect Fort Lawrence, in the middle of Mi'kmaw country. The French allies of the Mi'kmaq respond by building Fort Beausejour on higher ground north of the English fort. The Mi'kmaq also raid Dartmouth. The price of scalps is raised to �50.
1751	The fighting continues across the Chigneto Isthmus, but by summer Cornwallis orders ranger companies to disband, as too many questionable scalps have been turned in for payment, including several which are unmistakably European.
1752	Realizing that they cannot stop the Mi'kmaw raids against the settlements, the English propose a new Peace Treaty.
1753	Thomas Wood and SPG Missionary start work on a Mi'kmaw grammar dictionary and bible.
1754	Governor Cornwallis is replaced by Charles Lawrence. Abb� Le Loutre, Vicar-General of Acadia, writes to Governor Lawrence to inform him that the Mi'kmaq and Malecites had held a council at Fort Beausejour and wished to submit a peace proposal. The Governor's Council rejects it as 'insolent and absurd.'
1754	French and Indian War begins, and will last nine years
1755	Governor Shirley of Massachusetts, who had been agitating for a campaign to drive the French from Nova Scotia, is given permission to do so by the Secretary of State, Sir Thomas Robinson. The Secretary also orders Shirley to collaborate on this effort with Governor Lawrence, who had advocated the same policy. The two governors correspond and jointly plan for an expedition to be sent to Chignecto in the spring of 1755. The expedition, consisting of 2,000 New England militia and 250 British regulars from Fort Lawrence, lays siege to Fort Beausejour on 12 June 1755. The French capitulate four days later. This successful action by the British effectively removes French influence from Nova Scotia. Mi'kmaq raid isolated settlements in Nova Scotia, with British fishing boats as a main target. The Penobscot raid frontier settlements in Maine. Expulsion of Acadians begins. The Mi'kmaq hide many Acadians to save them from being deported. Many Acadians flee into the forests and fight a guerilla war beside the Mi'kmaq.
1756	British once again offer bounties for Mi'kmaw scalps. Governor Duquesne of Canada sends secret instructions to Abb� Le Loutre, urging him to keep the Mi'kmaq at war with the British.
1757	Second Battle of Bloody Creek near Annapolis Royal.
1758	British Army sweeps through remaining Acadian settlements, and also takes Louisburg. An amphibious English attack destroys the Mi'kmaw village of Eskinuopitijk and burns the local church, which is how the village became known as Burnt Church.
1760	An attempt by the French fleet to reinforce Qu�bec ends in defeat at a naval battle fought near Listuguj, which involved Mi'kmaq and Acadians. Several groups of Mi'kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Maliseet sign treaties with the British during this year.
1761	The majority of the Mi'kmaq follow the previous groups in signing peace treaties with the British. The "Burying of the Hatchet Ceremony" celebrates the successful conclusion of the treaties.
1762	Despite the peace treaties, when the British first try to settle at the lower St. John, the Maliseet warn survey crews to remain well down the river. Lieutenant-Governor Belcher of Nova Scotia issues a proclamation forbidding the settlement or trespass of certain lands claimed by natives.
1763	End of French and Indian War - Treaty of Paris gives Canada (New France and Acadia) to England.
1764	A plan for future management of Indian affairs is created.
1769	Prince Edward Island becomes a separate colony
1770	The Maliseet sign peace treaties with the British.
1776	Treaty is signed between the Americans and delegates of the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet, stating that the Mi'kmaw Nation and America would help one another against any enemy. Most of the Mi'kmaw people do not agree with this arrangement, therefore this treaty does not last.
1779	The final treaty between the Mi'kmaq and the British is signed. The Mi'kmaq cease to be a military threat.
1782	Loyalist refugees from New York flee to Maritimes. The Mi'kmaw population is now outnumbered and no longer considered to be a threat to the British. They are placed on reservations.
1783	The Colonial Government of Nova Scotia grant licenses of occupation to several Mi'kmaq Bands, which are merely confirmation of the existence of settlements already established.
1786	Charles Morris is commissioned to carry out an extensive survey of lands assigned to the Mi'kmaq.
1789	Schools for Mi'kmaw children are established.
1794	The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain allows the Mi'kmaq to cross the international border without hindrance.
1800	The Joint Committee for Indians is struck to study the plight of the Mi'kmaq.
1801	The Nova Scotia government creates ten Mi'kmaq Reserves.
1804	Jean-Mand� Sigogne compiles a book of Mi'kmaq translations.
1807	Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Wentworth orders a census be taken of the Mi'kmaq population.
1812	War of 1812 - Mi'kmaq remain neutral at their own request.
1820	Charles Morris is ordered to submit a plan for tracts of land, which were to be returned to the Mi'kmaq.
1822	The Mi'kmaq of St. George's Bay, Newfoundland build their own schooner.
1829	The last known Beothuk, Nancy Shanawdithit, dies of tuberculosis.
1840	Silas T. Rand, a Baptist Minister, compiles a Mi'kmaq Dictionary.
1841	John Denny Jr. was born. Denny is to become the last Mi'kmaq Kjisaqmaw to acquire his title by succeeding his father.
1848	Abraham Gesner, the Indian Commissioner, settles 14 Mi'kmaq families at Shubenacadie.
1850	An Act for Lower Canada defines the term "Indian" and establishes the criteria for eligibility for Indian Status.
1851	The criteria for Indian Status in 1850 is revised to state that Indian ancestry was through the male line. If a Native woman married a Non-Native man, her child could not claim Indian Status.
1855	The Nova Scotia government enacts legislation for the purpose of taking title to all lands reserved for the exclusive use of the Mi'kmaq and to hold it in trust for them.
1857	An Act for the enfranchisement of Indian tribes is introduced, offering 20 hectares of land as an incentive. Natives reject the Act.
1859	An Act is passed which allows squatters to buy the land on which they are trespassing, allowing settlers to obtain land set aside for the Mi'kmaq.
1866	Samuel P. Fairbanks, Commissioner of Crown Lands and Indian Affairs, prepares a schedule of lands to be set apart for the Mi'kmaq. Kauders' religious books in Mi'kmaw ideograms are published in Vienna.
1867	The Dominion of Canada is established. At confederation the control of Native issues is given to the Federal Government.
1868	The Indian Act is created.
1869	The Gradual Enfranchisement Act is passed to lure Indigenous citizens into giving up their special status and to give them Canadian-style property rights, thereby encouraging their assimilation into the new Canada.
1876	The Indian Act establishes the Department of Indian Affairs. In order to become a Canadian, Mi'kmaq must relinquish their Indian Status.
1888	George Creed, a postmaster in Hants County, traces some 350 Mi'kmaw petroglyphs at Kejimkujik.
1894	Father Pacifique translates prayers into Mi'kmaq.
1900	The Mi'kmaw flag is first raised in Listuguj on October 4 and in Halifax in 1901.
1914	Over 150 Mi'kmaw men sign up during World War I.
1918	Gabriel J. Sylliboy becomes the first elected Kjisaqmaw at a ceremony in Potlotek (Chapel Island).
1925	Sydney Band of Mi'kmaq is relocated from its traditional meeting location along the waterfront of Sydney, Nova Scotia. Reasons given by both the judiciary and politicians are that the presence of the Indians is affecting the property values of their neighbours.
1929	Rex. v. Sylliboy becomes an important precedent-setting case in which the Treaty of 1752 is held not to give the Mi'kmaq of Cape Breton Island immunity from the Lands and Forests Act. This was over-ruled in 1985 by R. v. Simon case.
1930	The Indian Residential School in Shubenacadie opens.
1939	World War II begins - over 250 Mi'kmaq volunteer.
1942	The Indian Affairs Branch introduces centralization programs in Nova Scotia, to relocate the Mi'kmaq to reserves located at Eskasoni and Shubenacadie.
1945	The Veterans Land Act grant is used to buy houses for veterans returning from World War II.
1949	The government loses interest in Centralization and, because of resistance, only half of the Nova Scotian Mi'kmaw population was relocated.
1950	Korean War - over 60 Mi'kmaq enlist.
1951	Revisions are made to the Indian Act, removing the ban against performing traditional ceremonies as well as a clause forbidding aboriginals from entering public bars.
1956	The Canadian Government grants citizenship to aboriginals.
1958	8 of 11 Mi'kmaw bands in Nova Scotia take over control of their own affairs, including the management of band funds.
1960	The Canadian Government permits aboriginals to vote in federal and provincial elections without any loss of their Status under the Indian Act.
1967	Residential school at Shubenacadie closes
1969	Pierre Trudeau introduces the White Paper Policy entitled "Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian policy" in an attempt to make aboriginal people adopt the values and culture of Canadians of European descent. It would eliminate special status for aboriginal people and repeal the Indian Act.
1970	The federal government begins funding native groups and associations to conduct research into treaties and aboriginal rights.
1971	Trudeau's White Paper Policy is withdrawn. Donald Marshall Junior is wrongly imprisoned for murder.
1973	The Acadia Band becomes the twelfth band in Nova Scotia.
1976	Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, activist and American Indian Movement member, is killed in Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota.
1977	The Mi'kmaq Sante' Mawio'mi and UNSI present their Aboriginal Rights position paper to the Minister of Indian Affairs.
1980	Mi'kmaq adopt the Francis-Smith writing system.
1981	The Constitution Act recognizes existing aboriginal and treaty rights. The United Nations Human Rights Committee finds that Canada�s Indian act is in violation of international law based on its discriminatory provisions towards women, based on the case of Sandra Lovelace and her loss of Indian status when she married a non-aboriginal man.
1982	Treaty and Aboriginal Rights are recognized under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. Donald Marshal Junior cleared of murder charge and freed.
1983	Mi'kmaw petroglyphs are found in Bedford, Nova Scotia.
1984	Conne River Indian Reserve (now Miawpukek) is recognized as a status First Nations Community as defined by the Indian Act of Canada.
1985	Supreme Court ruling "James Matthew Simon vs. The Queen" holds that the 1752 Treaty was still valid and enforceable. Bill C-31 goes into effect permitting the re-instatement of 8,000 individuals to Indian Status.
1986	The Sante' Mawio'mi announces that October 1st would be known as "Treaty Day" to commemorate the relationship between the Mi'kmaq and Her Majesty. The Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall Jr. Prosecution is established by the Executive Council of Nova Scotia.
1990	Donald Marshall Junior receives apology from province and $270,000 compensation. The Marshall Inquiry Report highlights the inadequacies of the Nova Scotia justice system in regards to the Mi'kmaq people. The Supreme Court of Canada "R. vs. Sparrow" decision holds that the Crown must honour its obligations and respect existing treaty and Aboriginal rights.
1991	The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples is established to examine Aboriginal issues in detail and to come up with recommendations for solutions to creating improved relations with the government and Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
1993	A Policing Agreement is signed by the Nova Scotia and federal government with the Union of Nova Scotia Indians.
1994	The Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia and the Minister of Indian Affairs sign an accord which would allow Mi'kmaw jurisdiction over education.
1995	The Canadian Government launches plans for negotiating Aboriginal self-government. The Minister of Indian Affairs issues department policy, which recognized an inherent right to self-government.
1996	On April 23, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples' 5-volume report is released following a 5 year study. June 21 is designated National Aboriginal Day.
1997	December 11, the Supreme Court of Canada rules that the concept of Aboriginal title is affirmed and also recognized in law. Delgamuukw decision states inter alia that Indian title cannot be sold, surrendered or extinguished without the consent of First Nations and can only be alienated to the Federal Crown. Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia, the Province of Nova Scotia, and Canada signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a Tripartite Forum. Bill C-30 "Mi'kmaq Education Act" becomes the first agreement in Canada to transfer jurisdiction for education from the Canadian federal government to Indigenous communities.
1998	Federal Court of Appeal upholds the Mitchell case. It affirms the 1794 Jay Treaty, Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation, between Great Britain and the United States, which allows the Mohawks to freely cross the Canada/US border unmolested.
1999	The Supreme Court of Canada rules that the Treaty of 1760-61 between the Mi'kmaq Nation and the Crown is valid. In the Marshall Decision, it re-affirms the Nation-to-Nation relationship existing between the Mi'kmaq and Canada by striking down those provisions of the Federal Fisheries Act that limit the Mi'kmaq ability to fish for commercial purposes. Chief Mise'l Joe and crew from Miawpukek cross the straight from Newfoundland to Cape Breton Island in Spirit Wind, a Mi'kmaw-pattern birchbark canoe.
2000	Violence at Burnt Church as DFO confronts Mi'kmaw fisherman who are trying to exercise their rights under the Marshall Decision.
2001	Mi'kmaw traditional marriages recognized under N.S. Solemnization of Marriages Act.
2002	Kejimkujik National Park officially designated National Historic Site in recognition of millenia of Mi'kmaw history and citing 'cultural landscape'
2003	Suspect arrested in the murder of Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash. Unveiling of commemorative monument (designed by Mi'kmaq artist Jean Augustine-McIsaac) at Kejimkujik NP/NHS.