“From 1885 to 1951, for 67 years, the rule of law in canada criminalized our governance and laws through the Potlatch Ban. This also included gathering more than a few of us together at one time. Our people went to jail for enacting our laws and way of life.
“From 1885 to the mid 1930s, for over 45 years, canada implemented the reserve pass system to control the movement of Indigenous people and remove us from our lands. The reserves became our prisons.
“From 1927 to 1951, for 24 years, canada implemented Section 141 of the Indian Act making it illegal to hire legal counsel to seek remedy through the courts for the theft of our lands.
“From 1920 to 1958, nearly 40 years, the rule of law in canada forced Indigenous children into residential schools and criminalized parents who tried to stop it. Our people were jailed for trying to protect our children.
“These laws and policies were put into place to deter us from being Indian. To punish us for being Indian. And yet, here we are, in 2025, holding onto what is left.
“It is my duty as a mother of 3 beautiful Indigenous children to inform the court that we are more than our songs and dances. As our ancestors said, “we are the land and the land is us” We are nothing without our land.
“canada cannot keep using the police and the courts to relieve themselves of the fact that our lands have never been ceded or surrendered.”