Lillian Shirt (born Lillian Piché; March 2, 1940 – July 18, 2017) was a

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

women's rights activist from

Saddle Lake Cree Nation Saddle Lake Cree Nation ( cr, ᐅᓂᐦᒋᑭᐢᑿᐱᐏᓂᕽ, onihcikiskwapiwinihk) is a Plains Cree, First Nations community, located in the ''Amiskwacīwiyiniwak'' (" Beaver Hills") region of central Alberta, Canada. The Nation is a signator ...

in Treaty 6 Territory, Alberta, Canada who was known for her political initiative against the discrimination towards Indigenous women and their inadequate access to housing, employment, and human rights.

Activism

In 1969, Shirt protested on the grounds of Sir Winston Churchill Square outside

Edmonton City Hall The Edmonton City Hall is the home of the municipal government of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Designed by Dub Architects, the building was completed in 1992. It was built to replace the former city hall designed by architects Kelvin Crawford Sta ...

after she and her children were unjustly evicted from their apartment following a change in ownership. With nowhere else to go, and no landlord willing to rent to her, she set up a tipi for her and her 4 children to live in view of the mayor's office. During the protest, which lasted 12 days, she was joined by several others who set up tents and an additional tipi. The protest earned national media attention. In an interview, Shirt explained that, along with housing discrimination, there were other reasons for her protest including child welfare, increased opportunities for education, and a need to address alcohol abuse in Indigenous communities. Shirt met with Edmonton Mayor

Ivor Dent Ivor Graham Dent, (February 7, 1924 – March 29, 2009) was a politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as mayor of Edmonton (1968-1974) and was a candidate for the House of Commons of Canada and the Legislative Assembly of Alberta on behal ...

and Alberta Premier

Harry Strom Harry Edwin Strom (July 7, 1914 – October 2, 1984) was the ninth premier of Alberta, from 1968 to 1971. His two-and-a-half years as Premier were the last of the thirty-six-year Social Credit dynasty, as his defeat by Peter Lougheed saw its r ...

to outline the social injustices the Indigenous women in her community were facing and was promised that programs would be put in place to address these issuesGeorge, Corinne. �
‘If I Didn’t Do Something, My Spirit Would Die:’ Grassroots Activism of Aboriginal Women in Calgary and Edmonton, 1951 - 1985.
�� University of Calgary, M.A. Thesis, 2007. and the province's plan for welfare housing began. In 1973, among several demonstrations, Shirt was also active in the protests again the ruling in the Lavell case where a group of

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

women staged a demonstration in front of the legislative buildings in Edmonton to protest the Lavell decision and demand equality, not only for Indigenous women, but for Indigenous peoples as well. Shirt went on to become one of the pioneer Indigenous activists of her time, establishing the Alberta Native Peoples Defence Fund, now commonly known as the Alberta Litigation Fund, and contributed to the organization of the Sacred Circle program at Prince Charles Elementary School, launching an initiative to teach

Cree language Cree (also known as Cree– Montagnais–Naskapi) is a dialect continuum of Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 117,000 people across Canada, from the Northwest Territories to Alberta to Labrador. If considered one language, it is th ...

in schools. Shirt also helped found the organization

Indian Rights for Indian Women Indian Rights for Indian Women (IRIW) was a grassroots activist collective, formed in 1967, that advocated against the gender discrimination in the Indian Act.Two-Axe Earley, M. (1994). Indian Rights for Indian Women. In H. Dagenais & D. Piche (E ...

, along with

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...

right's activist

Mary Two-Axe Earley Mary Two-Axe Earley (born Mary Two-Axe; October 4, 1911 – August 21, 1996) was a Mohawk and Oneida women's rights activist from the reserve of Kahnawake in Quebec, Canada. After losing her legal Indian status due to marrying a non-status man ...

, and fought to address the sex discrimination in the

Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still ...

, ultimately ending with the passing of

Bill C-31 Bill C-31 may refer to the following bills: *" An Act to Amend the Indian Act", a 1985 act amending the Canadian ''Indian Act'' *''An Act to Amend the Canada Elections Act and the Public Service Employment Act'', a 2007 act *"Protecting Canada's Im ...

in 1985.

Death

Shirt died at age 77 on July 18, 2017. She was survived by her 6 children, 31 grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren, and her numerous traditionally adopted children and grandchildren.Grace Gardens. “Online Tribute for Lillian SHIRT.” Grace Gardens Funeral Chapel, 18 July 2017, www.gracegardensfuneralchapel.com/obituary/lillian-shirt/.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirt, Lillian 1940 births 2017 deaths Cree people Indigenous women of the Americas Indigenous activists of the Americas First Nations activists First Nations women