Sandra Lovelace Nicholas facts for kids

Sandra Lovelace Nicholas was born on April 15, 1948. She is a former Canadian senator who represented the province of New Brunswick. She made history as the first Indigenous woman to be appointed to the Senate.

Sandra Lovelace Nicholas is well-known for her work as an activist for First Nations women and children. In 1979, she gained international attention for taking her case to the United Nations Human Rights Committee. Her efforts led to an important change in 1985. The Canadian Parliament removed a unfair part of the Indian Act. This old law had caused Indigenous women to lose their official status and rights if they married someone who was not Indigenous. Their children also lost their status. However, Indigenous men who married non-Indigenous women did not face the same rules.

Early Life and Learning

Mary Sandra Nicholas was born into the Maliseet people in the Tobique First Nation community. She went to St. Thomas University. She also earned a degree in residential construction from the Northern Technical College in Maine, when she lived in the United States. From a young age, she became an activist, working to protect aboriginal rights. She also worked as a carpenter.

Fighting for Rights

Groups like Indian Rights for Indian Women and the National Native Women's Association worked hard to fix unfair rules in the Indian Act. These rules meant that First Nations women and their children lost their official status if the women married someone who was not Indigenous. But Indigenous men who married non-Indigenous women did not lose their status. In 1974, Canada's highest court, the Supreme Court, said the law was valid. Some First Nations groups, mostly led by men, did not want the law to change.

After Sandra Lovelace Nicholas divorced her non-Indigenous husband, she moved back to the Tobique reserve. She found that she and her children had lost their First Nations status. This meant they lost rights to housing, education, and healthcare for ten years. In July 1977, she and other women walked 100 miles to Ottawa to bring attention to this problem.

Sandra Lovelace Nicholas became famous 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 (1977–1981). She spoke out against rules that took away a First Nations woman's status if she married a non-Indigenous man. This also meant their children were denied status. This had many effects, like stopping these women from having equal access to reserve land. It forced a system where a woman's identity depended on her husband, taking away her own rights and status. Also, many First Nations groups had matrilineal systems, where children belonged to their mother's people. The law took away the traditional First Nations identity of children from these marriages.

In 1985, Sandra Lovelace Nicholas finally succeeded in her fight to change the law. Parliament passed a new law to remove 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 protected the status of First Nations women and their children. It was very important for keeping the culture of future generations who identify as Indigenous.

In 2005, Sandra Lovelace Nicholas became the first Indigenous woman to be appointed to the Senate of Canada. She served as a Liberal senator.

On January 29, 2014, the leader of the Liberal Party, Justin Trudeau, announced that all Liberal Senators, including Sandra Lovelace Nicholas, were no longer part of the main Liberal group. They continued to serve as independent senators.

In April 2018, the Feminist Alliance for International Action recognized Sandra Lovelace Nicholas as a member of the Indigenous Famous Six. The other members are Jeannette Corbiere-Lavell, Yvonne Bedard, Sharon McIvor, Lynn Gehl, and Senator Lillian Eva Dyck.

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

Her Family and Why She Fought

In 1970, Sandra Lovelace married Bennie Lovelace, who was not Indigenous. They had one child together. After they divorced, she moved back to her reserve. But she found that she and her children had lost their status 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 Important Work

• In 1990, Sandra Lovelace Nicholas was made a Member of the Order of Canada. This is one of Canada's highest honors.
• In 1992, she received one of the yearly Governor General's Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case. This award celebrates the achievements of women.
• In 2005, Prime Minister Paul Martin appointed her as a senator from New Brunswick.
• In 2008, she received an honorary degree from St. Francis Xavier University.