September 17, 2024, marks the 25th anniversary of the Marshall decision

The Marshall case in 1999 stands as a beacon of Indigenous treaty rights in Canada, its waves rippling through the legal and cultural landscape of our time.

At the heart of this landmark ruling is Donald Marshall Jr. – Junior to many – a Mi’kmaw from Membertou First Nation. His name would come to echo through the chambers of justice and embody living history for Mi’kmaw youth on land and open waters.

The Marshall Decision upheld Indigenous rights to earn a livelihood from the harvest and sale of fish, wildlife, wild fruit, and berries, as set forth in the Peace and Friendship Treaties of 1760 and 1761.

Steve Wadden is a settler photojournalist and avid fly fisher, living and working in unceded and unsurrendered, beautiful Unama’ki, Cape Breton Island.