Annotation:
This Senate report begins by recognizing that Aboriginal women living on reserves do not have access to the same rights as other Canadian women. The report focuses on the legal regimes governing Aboriginal women and addresses property laws on reserves, resource management, housing shortages and questions of band membership. The report contains a detailed analysis of Canadian law under the Indian Act, the First Nations Land Management Act, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as well as provincial law governing division of property in a marriage. The report also touches on the rights of women to property under international law and acknowledges that the current situation in Canada violates these international rights. The report concludes with the recommendation that the federal government adopt measures within the structures of Aboriginal government to protect the rights of Aboriginal women regarding the division of matrimonial property. [Descriptors: Indigenous Women, Canada]