On May 10th, 2024 former National Chief Del Riley spoke to a packed house at the Gitpu trading post at 91 Russell Street. Chief Riley was in St. John to deliver a letter to various local authorities informing them of his correspondence with Public Safety Minister, Kris Austin regarding the April 26th, 2024 raid on the Gitpu Trading Post by Public Safety officers.
Category: Chief Del Riley
Daniel and Trent Francis victorious in Micmac fishing rights case
On Friday, March 22nd, 2024 Daniel Francis and Trent Francis were found not guilty of obstructing a Fisheries Officer by Judge Sarson of the Dartmouth Provincial Court of Nova Scotia. This is the third Micmac rights case won in the last two months by former National Chief Delbert Riley who has been appearing in court…
Join Daniel and Trent Francis in court on March 22nd
All MRA members and supporters are invited to join Daniel and Trent Francis in the Dartmouth Provincial Courthouse at 277 Pleasant Street to hear the verdict in their case on Friday, March 22, 2024.
Amu Leaf wins court victory – conditions dropped!
Chief Riley won a major victory in a Dartmouth courtroom today in appearing for four Mi’kmaw people charged after the Halifax Regional Police raided treaty truckhouse Amu Leaf. The former National Chief raised a constitutional argument that the various provisions of the Treaty of 1752 meant that the conditions imposed on the defendants to not…
Chief Riley and Cody Caplin win constitutional challenge
A total of eight charges of violating the provisions of the Fisheries Act against Micmac fisherman Cody Caplin were dropped by the Attorney General of Canada on February 15th, 2024.
Support Amu Leaf – Public Meeting with Chief Riley
Read more about this issue here. Chief Del Riley is a Hereditary Chief of the Crane Clan of the Chippewa Nation and the last President of the National Indian Brotherhood. Among his achievements was the development and negotiation of Sections 25 and 35 of the Canadian Constitution which enshrine the protection of Aboriginal and Treaty…
Micmac Rights Newsletter #6
The 6th edition of our newsletter is available here and contains the opening statements of Cody Caplin and Chief Del Riley regarding Cody’s trial for fishing lobster.
Opening statement at Cody Caplin trial by Chief Del Riley Nov 30, 2023
The simple fact is that this trial should not be happening. The accused, Cody Caplin, a member of the Mi’kmaq Nation, is not a criminal. He simply exercised his constitutionally protected Aboriginal and treaty right as a member of his nation to fish in order to feed himself and his family on his people’s unceded territory. As Indigenous people, the right to survive and feed ourselves from our own lands is the most basic Aboriginal right that we have.
Videos from November 30th Meeting in Eel River Bar First Nation in support of Cody Caplin
On November 30th, 2023, Albert Marshall Jr., Chief Del Riley, and elder Albert Marshall Sr. addressed a gathering in Eel River Bar First Nation to speak about Micmac rights and to express support for Mi’kmaw fisherman, Cody Caplin. Caplin is currently facing 10 charges for fishing lobsters to feed himself and his family.
Story on Cody Caplin’s case syndicated across Canada
The following is the list of all media locations which published the story by Mike MacDonald in The Canadian Press entitled “Constitutional challenge in Indigenous lobster fishing case moving ahead this week.” We are grateful that Mi’kmaq rights issues are reaching a wider audience and that news about Cody’s case has reached an audience of millions.