Mary Two-Axe Earley and The Right Honourable Edward Schreyer, Governor General's Awards, Ottawa, October 17, 1979. Image: Library and Archives Canada
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Resource ID
7910
Access
Restricted
Credit Line
Library and Archives Canada
Date of Creation
17 October 1979
Keywords
Women's History, Indigenous History, Indigenous Rights, women, women's rights, law
People Depicted
Mary Two-Axe Earley
Program Category
Tours
Rights
Copyright Government of Canada
Caption
Mary Two-Axe Earley and The Right Honourable Edward Schreyer, Governor General's Awards, Ottawa, October 17, 1979. Image: Library and Archives Canada
Description
Mary Two-Axe Earley, a Mohawk woman from the reserve of Kahnawake, Quebec, received the Governor General's Award from The Right Honourable Edward Schreyer in 1979.
Earley was an avid Canadian women's rights activist who fought for the equality of Indigenous women under the law. She challenged Section 12(1)(b) of the <em>Indian Act</em> which stated that Indigenous women who married non-Indigenous men lost their Indian status, and that their children would not be able to claim this status either - a rule that did not apply to men. After years of struggle, Earley became the first person to be reinstated with her status in a ceremony in Toronto, after Bill C-31 was passed in June 1985.