Gabriel Sylliboy

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

Before 1918, Gabriel was already a renowned Mi'kmaq religious leader at the Whycocomagh Reserve and Grand Captain of Mi'kmawey Mawio'mi or Mi'kmaq Grand Council.[2] After Chief John Denny Jr. in 1918, Silliboy became the first elected Grand Chief.

Ten years later, in 1929, Sylliboy after being found carrying muskrat pelts, was arrested for hunting out of season and convicted. He invoked treaty rights[3] dating to 1752 as his defense during the court case and subsequent appeal, both of which he lost.[4]

Sylliboy died on 4 March 1964, in Sydney, Cape Breton County.[5] In 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.

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."[2]

Chief Gabriel Sylliboy, speaking to Mi'kmaq people, ca. 1930

Fourteen years later, in 1999, the R v Marshall ruling stated that the treaties from 1760 and 1761 show the Mi'kmaq can earn a living from hunting and fishing as their ancestors did when they traded with the Europeans.[6] 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.[2]

In February 2017, the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia J.J. Grant granted a posthumous pardon to Gabriel Sylliboy, declaring that this "helps acknowledge the struggles of the past and honour those who sought to exercise their rights." He added that it "is a process of treaty education that includes understanding and valuing what the Mi’kmaq have contributed in shaping this province and nation."[2] On 16 February 2017, the Office of the Premier of Nova Scotia issued an official apology and pardon statement:

We recognize that the treatment of the grand chief was unjust. The province apologizes to the family of Grand Chief Sylliboy and the Mi'kmaw community for this injustice. An important step on our path toward reconciliation is recognizing the mistakes of the past so we can build a better future for all Nova Scotians.[7]

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."[2]

• Treaty Day
• History of Nova Scotia
• List of Grand Chiefs (Mi'kmaq)

• Wicken, William C. The Colonization of Mi'kmaw Memory and History, 1794-1928: The King V. Gabriel Sylliboy, University of Toronto Press, 1st edition: 15 June 15, 2012, ISBN 978-1442611559

• Account of the first election for the office of Grand Chief held at Chapel Island in 1918, Cape Breton Magazine