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

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

women's rights activist from Saddle Lake Cree Nation 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 Edmonton City Council, 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 architect ...

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 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 it ...

to outline the social injustices the Indigenous women in her community were facing. She was promised that programs would be put in place to address these issues,George, 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, during several demonstrations, Shirt was also active in protesting the ruling in the Lavell case, where a group of

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

women staged a demonstration in front of the legislative buildings in Edmonton. They protested 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 pioneering Indigenous activists of her time. She established 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 language, Montagnais–Naskapi language, Naskapi) is a dialect continuum of Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 86,475 people across Canada in 2021, from the Northwest Territories to Alberta to ...

in schools. Shirt also helped found the organization

Indian Rights for Indian Women Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

, along with Mohawk rights activist Mary Two-Axe Earley. Additionally, she fought to address sex discrimination in the

Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' () is a Canadian Act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still in force with amendments, it is the primary document that defines how t ...

, ultimately ending with the passing of Bill C-31 in 1985.

Death

Shirt died at the age of 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 20th-century First Nations people 20th-century First Nations women Cree women Cree activists