1918 - Gabriel Sylliboy becomes first elected Grand Chief of the Mi’kmaq

Following the death of hereditary Grand Chief John Denny Jr., the title began to be passed on through an electoral process, and Gabriel Sylliboy became the first elected Grand Chief of the Mi’kmaq. In 1927, Sylliboy was arrested for hunting out of season and became one of the first to appeal to treaty rights in his legal defense. Although he was convicted at the time, he was issued a posthumous apology and pardon by the Nova Scotia government in 2017 and honoured at a ceremony in Halifax.

“Sylliboy Case.” Accessed September 23, 2026. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sylliboy-case