SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE- The federal government will soon change the legal definition of Indian Status, and First Nations groups, including those in the NWT, are urging Canada to consult with them first.

Chuck Strahl, minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, announced June 2 that the government will not appeal a B.C. Court of Appeal decision that found sections of Canada's Indian Act discriminatory toward women. The court gave the government until April 6, 2010 to amend the act.

Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus: First Nations groups across the country need to be involved in redefining Indian status. - NNSL file photo

The case began when Sharon McIvor a B.C. First Nations woman, sued the government because she lost her Indian status when she married a non-First Nations man before the act was last amended in 1985.

She argued that First Nations women and their children who lost their status for "marrying out" should regain it retroactively. On June 8, 2007, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled in McIvor's favour and the federal government appealed the decision.

The B.C. Court of Appeal sided with the Supreme Court on April 6, 2009.

Now, Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus says First Nations groups across the country need to be involved in redefining Indian Status, which the department plans to do over the summer.

"What we're pushing for is everyone that has lost their status ought to have the opportunity to regain it," Erasmus said Monday. "And what we're worried about is that when this legislation is developed, it'll only apply to a small section of the people who lost their status and not everyone will regain it."

Erasmus said the Dene Nation will lobby the government to ensure its concerns are included in the new legislation.

"There are some provisions now that say if our children don't marry status Indians, that they can also lose their status, and that's not what this is about," Erasmus said. "It ought to be people retaining their status well into the future and the next generations, regardless of who they marry. It's not a matter of blood quorum."

Patrica Valladao, a spokesperson for Indian Affairs, said the department is satisfied with the court's decision and is still looking at what kinds of changes it will make to the Indian Act and hopes to have the new legislation ready by fall.

"The government is ready to work collaboratively with the willing aboriginal organizations and parliamentarians in a way to facilitate the amendments that will satisfy the court's ruling," she said. "The decision provided by the British Columbia Court of Appeal provides the necessary clarity and direction which Canada was seeking, so that's the reason why we are not appealing."

The federal Indian Act was implemented in 1869, but some sections were amended in 1985.