Aboriginal women in downtown Vancouver perform the Strong Woman Song.

Last year, this situation was all too real for Gratia Bunnie.

Bunnie’s husband, Samuel, died in June 2004. After a "grieving period," Bunnie was evicted from her Sakimay First Nation home just east of Regina, Saskatchewan.  The reserve’s chief and council had decided that she could no longer live there because she had never become a band member.       

"There was no housing policy in place at the time my husband passed away," says Bunnie.

After the eviction, Bunnie broke back into her house and posted a sign on her front door that read: "I declare my right to occupy my matrimonial home."

Bunnie’s case was brought to Saskatchewan’s provincial court on May 14. On July 26, Justice Janet McMurtry dismissed the request to evict her until the council properly handled her application to become a band member. 

Bunnie remains a member of a different First Nation, the Cowessess First Nation, even though she has lived on the Sakimay reserve for more than 15 years.

No matrimonial property laws on reserves

Gratia Bunnie's reaction when she was given a letter telling her if she went back to her house, she would be charged with breaking and entering [0:15] Bunnie talks about getting what was hers back [0:11] Bunnie talks about what happened after she forced her way into her own home [0:14] Bunnie talks about how she and her daughter had to cope after their services were cut [0:08] Bunnie talks about what Aboriginals must do as a nation [0:10] Requires RealPlayer

Situations like Bunnie’s have become far too common on reserves.  So common, in fact, that the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) recently published a report about the matrimonial real property issues facing native women today.

The report, published in October, defines matrimonial real property as "the house or land that a couple lives on while they are married or in a common-law relationship."

Matrimonial property laws fall under provincial jurisdiction.  When the Indian Act was amended in 1985, it made it clear that reserves fall under federal jurisdiction.  Provincial matrimonial real property laws were thus pushed aside and could no longer apply to reserves.

In Bunnie’s case, the situation was made worse because she had never become a member of her husband’s band.  Before 1985, a woman automatically joined her husband’s band when she got married.

An amendment meant to end discrimination against women on reserves had some unintended consequences.  It meant, for example, that Bunnie and other women like her aren’t always recognized as the proper homeowners.

Aboriginal women more at risk  

Statistics Canada says that Aboriginal women are more likely to experience spousal abuse, higher unemployment rates and lower incomes than their non-Aboriginal counterparts. 

The department of Indian and Northern Affairs published a report in March 2007 concerning matrimonial real property issues.  The report arrived at three possible legislative solutions to the problem. 

The first is to apply provincial matrimonial property laws to reserves.  The second is to include provincial laws while granting each reserve the authority to exercise those laws as it sees fit. The third option is to have a federal matrimonial property law that also gives each reserve the authority to exercise jurisdiction.

"The minister (of Indian and Northern Affairs) has indicated publicly that he will be introducing (a bill) in the fall," says Lila Duffy, director of women’s issues for the department.

Duffy could not comment on the legislation, however, because it is still under review.

She also could not comment on the types of non-legislative solutions that the Native Women’s Association of Canada says are essential.

Legislation not the only solution

"Legislation is just a partial solution," says Elizabeth Bastien, the Native Women’s Association of Canada’s policy analyst.

Many challenges facing Aboriginals today date far back to when the Indian Act was first introduced.

NWAC would like to see Indian and Northern Affairs implement programs to educate Aboriginal women about their rights so that they may be better prepared to seek legal aid if matrimonial real property issues arise.

Resources to help prevent spousal violence are necessary, says the association.  Reserves could address this problem by having more transitional housing for women and children, for example.  

Proper access to the court system is also a key issue for NWAC.  "Women have trouble accessing the court system and all the protections that are in place," says Bastien.

The association has met with the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs on several occasions and the focus has always been on the legislation, says Bastien.

She says she is worried that it won’t be sufficient or pointed in the right direction.

For her part, Bunnie says she is confident her case could set a precedent for women who are not recognized as band members after their husbands die.

Related Links NWAC matrimonial real property report Indian and Northern Affairs Canada matrimonial real property backgrounder The Indian Act Matrimonial real property issues report by Wendy-Grant John Statistics Canada's Women in Canada report