January 26 In 1984, the federal government announced a land claims settlement with Yukon natives worth $620 million. The deal also gave them title to 20,000 square kilometres. In 1990, a royal commission report exonerated Nova Scotia native Donald Marshall — nearly 19 years after he was falsely convicted of the 1971 Sydney murder of Sandy Seale. The report said Nova Scotia’s justice system was riddled with racism, ineptitude and unfairness. It added Marshall was victimized, at least in part, because he was a Mi’Kmaq. Marshall was later compensated with a lifetime pension worth $1.5 million. He returned to the headlines in 1999, when a legal challenge he launched produced a landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling on native fishing rights. Marshall died in August 2009. January 30 In 2020,…
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