Founding of the Native Council of Canada (NCC) to fight for the rights and interests of Métis and non-status Indians.

The NCC is recognized by the World Council of Indigenous Peoples, signalling their contributions to the pursuit of the recognition of Indigenous rights internationally.

The NCC publishes a Declaration of Rights for Métis and Non-Status Indians defending the right to self-determination, to representation and to preserve identity.

The Métis and Non-Status Indian Constitutional Review Commission is established by the NCC to canvas the views of Métis and non-status Indians across Canada on the subject of a new constitution.

NCC President Harry Daniels plays a key role in entrenchment of the terms “Indian, Inuit and Métis” in section 35 of the Constitutions Act, 1982.

The NCC participates in the First Ministers’ Conferences on Aboriginal Constitutional Matters.

Bill C-31 amends the Indian Act to remove some rules that discriminate against women. NCC supports the passage of the legislation, yet continues advocacy because of ongoing inequalities.

The Native Council of Canada (NCC) is renamed and reorganized as the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. CAP participates in the development of the International Labour Organization’s Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Populations, which recognizes the right to self-determination of Indigenous peoples.

The NCC makes submissions to the Royal Commission of Aboriginal Peoples in support of equality rights, mobility rights, off-reserve rights and self-governance rights of its constituents, published as the 10-volume report “The First Peoples Urban Circle: Choices for Self-Determination”.

CAP President Harry Daniels, Leah Gardner, Terry Joudrey, and CAP file suit against the Government of Canada for the court to determine which level of government, federal or provincial, has jurisdiction over Métis and non-status Indians. In 2005, Harry Daniels’ son, Gabriel Daniels is added as a co-plaintiff.

CAP intervenes in a number of key court cases related to Aboriginal rights in the interests of its constituents: Sawridge Band v. Canada (1997), Corbiere v. Canada (1999), R. v. Blais (2003), R. v. Powley (2003), Misquadis v. Canada (2003), R. v. Bernard (2005), R. v. Sappier (2006), and McIvor v. Canada (2007).

CAP achieves special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. (ECOSOC).

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is adopted by the UN on September 13, 2007. CAP, as a non-governmental organizaton, is involved during the drafting of the declaration and present at its adoption. The Government of Canada fails to sign on to the declaration until 2010.

Repeal of the Section 67 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. CAP and other organizations are successful in advocacy for the repeal so that First Nations people now have access to make complaints to the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

A partial victory in Daniels v. Canada, as Federal Court Justice Michael Phelan rules that Métis and non-status Indians are “Indians” under the Constitution Act, 1867. The federal government appeals the decision.

In Daniels v. Canada, the Federal Court of Appeals upholds part of Justice Phelan’s decision - that the Métis are included in s. 91(24). However, the Court of Appeal rules that this recognition would only be extended to non-status Indians on a case-by-case basis.

After a 17-year legal battle, the Supreme Court of Canada confirms in the unanimous Daniels v. Canada decision that Métis and non-status Indians are Indians under Section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1982 and are the federal responsibility.

CAP and the Government of Canada sign a Political Accord that acknowledges the CAP Daniels decision and to reaffirm a “renewed relationship between Canada and Indigenous peoples based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership.

CAP participates as a party with standing in the National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.