Sandra Lovelace Nicholas facts for kids

Mary Sandra Lovelace Nicholas (born April 15, 1948) is a former Canadian senator from New Brunswick. She made history as the first Indigenous woman appointed to the Senate. Sandra is well-known for her work helping First Nations women and children. In 1979, she gained international attention for taking her case to the United Nations Human Rights Committee. She successfully helped change a unfair part of the Indian Act in 1985. This part had caused Indigenous women to lose their legal status and rights if they married non-Indigenous men. Their children also lost their status, but Indigenous men who married non-Indigenous women did not face the same rules.

Early Life and Education

Mary Sandra Nicholas was born on April 15, 1948. She is a Maliseet person from the Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick. She studied at St. Thomas University. She also earned a degree in home construction from the Northern Technical College in Maine, while living in the United States. When she was young, she became an activist for aboriginal rights. She also worked as a carpenter.

Her Work as an Activist

Sandra Lovelace Nicholas became a strong voice for Indigenous women and their rights. She fought against unfair rules in the Indian Act. This law took away the official status of First Nations women and their children if the women married non-Indigenous men. However, First Nations men who married non-Indigenous women did not lose their status. In 1974, the Supreme Court of Canada said this law was acceptable. Some First Nations groups, mostly led by men, did not want the law to change.

Fighting for Rights

After Sandra divorced her non-Indigenous husband, she moved back to her home reserve. She found that she and her children had lost their official First Nations status. This meant they lost important rights to housing, education, and healthcare for ten years. In July 1977, she joined other women on a 100-mile walk to Ottawa. They wanted to bring attention to this important issue.

Sandra Lovelace Nicholas became known around the world for her activism. In 1979, she asked the United Nations to look into how the Canadian government treated Indigenous women and children. This case was called Sandra Lovelace v. Canada. She spoke out against policies that took away a First Nations woman's status if she married a non-Indigenous man. This also denied status to their children. These rules meant women could not access reserve land equally. The law also ignored traditional Indigenous systems where children belonged to their mother's people.

Changing the Law

In 1985, Sandra Lovelace Nicholas finally succeeded in her fight to change the law. The Canadian Parliament passed a new law. It removed a 116-year-old part of the Indian Act. This part had taken away an Indigenous woman's Indian status if she married a non-Indigenous man. This change helped protect the status of First Nations women and their children. It was also very important for keeping the culture of descendants who identified as Indigenous.

Becoming a Senator

In 2005, Sandra Lovelace Nicholas was the first Indigenous woman to be appointed to the Senate of Canada. She served as a senator for New Brunswick. She was part of the Liberal group in the Senate.

On January 29, 2014, the leader of the Liberal Party, Justin Trudeau, announced that all Liberal Senators, including Sandra, would no longer be part of the main Liberal group. They continued to work as independent senators. These senators later called themselves the Senate Liberal Caucus.

In April 2018, the Feminist Alliance for International Action recognized Sandra. They named her a member of the Indigenous Famous Six. Other members included Jeannette Corbiere-Lavell and Senator Lillian Eva Dyck.

In 2019, the Senate Liberal Caucus changed its name to the Progressive Senate Group. Sandra Lovelace Nicholas joined this new group.

On January 31, 2023, Sandra Lovelace Nicholas retired from the Senate.

Family Life

In 1970, Sandra married Bennie Lovelace, who was not Indigenous. They had one child together. After they divorced, she moved back to her reserve. However, she found that she and her children had lost their official status and rights because of her marriage. This affected her family's housing, health, and her children's education. It took her almost ten years to get her First Nations status back. This experience led her to become an activist for the rights of women and children.

Awards and Recognition

• 1990, Sandra Lovelace Nicholas was made a Member of the Order of Canada. This is a high honor in Canada.
• 1992, she received one of the annual five Governor General's Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case. This award recognizes the achievements of women.
• 2005, she was appointed a senator from New Brunswick by Prime Minister Paul Martin.
• 2008, she received an honorary degree from St. Francis Xavier University.