Gabriel Sylliboy

Gabriel Sylliboy (18 August 1874 – March 4, 1964) was the first Mi'kmaq elected as Grand Chief and the first to fight for the recognition by the state of Canada of the treaties between the government and the First Nations people.

Early life Sylliboy was born at the Whycocomagh reserve on Cape Breton, Canada, on 8 August 1874. His parents were John and Mary Sylliboy, née Barrington.

Activism Before 1918, Gabriel was already a renowned Mi'kmaw religious leader at the Whycocomagh Reserve and Grand Captain of Mi'kmawey Mawio'mi or the Mi'kmaq Grand Council. dating to 1752 as his defense during the court case and subsequent appeal, both of which he lost.

Death Sylliboy died on 4 March 1964, in Sydney, Cape Breton County. During his life, he could not speak, read, or write English. He insisted that his grandchildren be formally educated in English, while at the same time remain immersed in the Mi'kmaq culture and language.

Legacy In 1986, the Supreme Court of Canada overturned the decision in Mr. Sylliboy's case. In the case of Simon vs. The Queen, the Court found that the appellant, James Simon of Nova Scotia, a registered Mi'kmaq, had the right to hunt for food. Simon had relied for his defense on the same Peace and Friendship Treaty as Sylliboy. Chief Justice Brian Dickson wrote that "the language used [in the Sylliboy case] reflects the biases and prejudice of another era in [Canada's] history. Such language is no longer acceptable." It was a case brought on by Donald Marshall Jr., wrongfully convicted of murder in the early 1970s and himself the son of a Mi’kmaq grand chief. Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy of the Mi’kmaq Grand Council stated that the fact that the "Mi’kmaq [people] today celebrate their aboriginal and treaty rights is due to people like the heroic late grand chief."