Aboriginal Women Working for Better Community

Viola Robinson, advocate for the advancement of Aboriginal and treaty rights, will talk about Aboriginal women's work to make a better Canada and Nova Scotia on Wednesday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. at Saint Mary's University.

Her talk is part of the 2006 Agnes Dennis Lecture, sponsored by the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women and the Local Council of Women of Halifax. Catherine Martin, a Mi'kmaw filmmaker and drummer, will perform on the drum.

"The roles of Aboriginal women have been to give and nurture life and to teach and pass on the history of our people," said Mrs. Robinson. "These roles have come to include advocating for our rights so that we have a good life for our families and a correct version of our history."

Mrs. Robinson has been a leader in the struggle for Mi'kmaq and treaty rights. In 1975 she was elected president of the Native Council of Nova Scotia. During her 16-year term, she worked to change the section in the Indian Act that denied Aboriginal women their rights if they married a non-native person.

In 1990, she was elected president of the Native Council of Canada; within 10 months, she was appointed to serve as a commissioner on the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

Her work with Mi'kmaw leaders led to court cases validating the Mi'kmaq Treaty of 1752 and protecting Mi'kmaq rights in Nova Scotia. Inspired by women like her mother and Supreme Court Justice Bertha Wilson, whom she met through the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, she has taken on challenges and leadership whenever she saw a job that needed to be done.

"The accomplishments of Aboriginal women benefit us all," said Carolyn Bolivar-Getson, Minister responsible for the Advisory Council on the Status of Women Act. "Their continued work for human rights supports our own. Their contributions as researchers, educators, social workers, lawyers, filmmakers, artists, craftswomen, and community leaders have made their communities and Nova Scotia better places to live."

"Human rights can be fragile, even in a wealthy and free country like Canada," said Sonja Power, chair of the Advisory Council on the Status of Women. "Women continue to face roadblocks. This is especially true for Aboriginal women, but it is true for us all, and we must always be prepared to call for what is right."

The third Agnes Dennis Lecture takes place at the Scotiabank Conference Theatre in the Sobey Building at Saint Mary's University. Support from Saint Mary's has made the event possible.