Lillian Shirt facts for kids

Lillian Shirt (born Lillian Piché; March 2, 1940 – July 18, 2017) was a Cree woman from the Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Alberta, Canada. She was known for fighting for fair treatment and equal rights for Indigenous women. She worked to make sure they had proper homes, jobs, and basic human rights.

Fighting for Rights

The Tipi Protest

In 1969, Lillian Shirt and her four children were unfairly forced to leave their apartment. With nowhere to go, she set up a tipi right outside Edmonton City Hall in Sir Winston Churchill Square. She wanted the mayor to see her situation.

Her protest lasted 12 days. Other people joined her, setting up more tents and another tipi. This protest got attention from news all over Canada. Lillian explained that she was protesting not only about housing problems, but also about child welfare and the need for better education opportunities for Indigenous people.

She met with Edmonton Mayor Ivor Dent and Alberta Premier Harry Strom. She explained the unfair problems Indigenous women in her community were facing. They promised to create programs to help. After this, the province started making plans for housing to help people in need.

Changing Laws and Lives

Lillian Shirt continued to be a strong activist. In 1973, she joined protests against the decision in the Lavell case. A group of Indigenous women protested in Edmonton, demanding equality for all Indigenous people.

Lillian became one of the first and most important Indigenous activists of her time. She helped start the Alberta Native Peoples Defense Fund, which is now called the Alberta Litigation Fund. She also helped create the Sacred Circle program at Prince Charles Elementary School. This program started teaching the Cree language in schools.

Lillian Shirt also helped found an organization called Indian Rights for Indian Women, along with Mohawk activist Mary Two-Axe Earley. They worked hard to fix unfair rules in the Indian Act that treated women differently. Their efforts led to a new law called Bill C-31 being passed in 1985. This law helped many Indigenous women get their rights back.

Later Life

Lillian Shirt passed away on July 18, 2017, at the age of 77. She was survived by her 6 children, 31 grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren, and many other children and grandchildren she had adopted in the traditional way.