Family of late Mi'kmaq activist seeks payment

First Nations

Thursday, September 17, 2009

The family of the Donald Marshall Jr., a Mi'kmaq activist who died in August, wants Native leaders to live up to their promise to compensate him for his efforts.

Marshall was promised up to $2 million for leading a 1999 case that reaffirmed the treaty rights of Mi'kmaq and Maliseet people. His family said the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs failed to pay him before his death at the age of 56.

"Donald chased the chiefs for a number of years, with his health not being the best and everything else — it just took a toll on him overall," Donald's brother, Simon Marshall, told CBC News.

Chief Noah Augustine, the co-chairman of the Atlantic Policy Congress, apologized for the inaction. He said he would bring up the issue when Native leaders meet next month to mark the 10th anniversary of the court decision.

Marshall was buried in Membertou, Nova Scotia, where the Membertou First Nation is based.

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Marshall family pushes chiefs for compensation (CBC 9/17)