Nora Bernard: The Mi’kmaw woman who changed the course of Canadian history
- See Different
- Sep 24, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 9, 2025
Most Canadians have never heard of the Mi’kmaw woman whose fight for justice reshaped national understandings of Truth and Reconciliation and made the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement possible.
Her name was Nora Bernard. Her story is not just one of survival, but of vision, leadership, and collective strength that continues to guide us today.
A relentless fight for justice
A member of Millbrook First Nation in Nova Scotia, Nora survived the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School, where thousands of Indigenous children were taken from their families. Even as a child, she stood up for her siblings and others who were treated cruelly. That same determination shaped her life as an advocate and leader.
At just 16, Nora married a non-Native man and lost her legal status under the Indian Act. Without status, she was no longer permitted to remain in her community. Though she regained her status in 1985 through Bill C-31, her band membership was not restored until 2006, only a year before her death. For decades she lived only steps from where she was born, yet was cut off from her kin. This separation is a stark reminder of the ongoing violence of colonial systems.
Nora carried the weight of these injustices with dignity and strength and transformed them into a lifelong fight for her people.
1987: Nora began inviting fellow Survivors to her home in Nova Scotia. These conversations became the foundation of an organization to represent Shubenacadie Survivors.
1995: Many lawyers refused to take on residential school cases, but Nora persisted until Halifax lawyer John McKiggan agreed to represent their group. On behalf of the organization, Nora filed the first class-action lawsuit against the Government of Canada, seeking compensation for Residential School Survivors.
2007: Following her lead, Survivors from other schools and provinces launched similar lawsuits. These efforts eventually joined together, resulting in the largest class action settlement in Canadian history, the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. By 2012, nearly 80,000 Survivors had received $1.9 billion in compensation for the abuse and trauma they endured. Tragically, Nora was murdered before she could see the full impact of her fight, but her legacy was already firmly rooted in the lives of Survivors and families.
2008: As part of the settlement, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada was created. That same year, Nora was posthumously awarded the Order of Nova Scotia for her lifelong work.
2008-2015: For seven years, the commissioners of the TRC – The Honorable Murray Sinclair, journalist and advocate Marie Wilson, and Dr. Wilton Littlechild – worked tirelessly to gather Survivor testimonies. In 2015, they issued the 94 Calls to Action, a roadmap for reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
2021: Building on the advocacy of Survivors like Nora and Phyllis Jack Webstad (founder of the Orange Shirt Day Initiative), September 30 was declared the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – a day to honour Survivors and remember the children who never came home.
2023: In a symbolic gesture, the city of Halifax renamed Cornwallis Street to Nora Bernard Street, transforming a space once tied to oppression into one that now honours Mi’kmaw courage and community leadership.
Her legacy and the work ahead
Nora’s story is one of agency, resilience, and deep love for community. While she was a central figure, she was never alone. Survivors across the country stood with her, sharing their stories and refusing to let the truth remain hidden. Together, they shifted the national conversation.
It has now been ten years since the TRC’s 94 Calls to Action were released, yet progress remains uneven. Many calls are still unfulfilled, from addressing systemic inequities in education and child welfare to ensuring Survivors’ voices continue to guide reconciliation efforts.
But reconciliation is not defined by government action alone.
Across the country, Indigenous Peoples are leading powerful movements in language revitalization, community healing, child welfare reform, and education. These initiatives embody the strength and vision that Nora herself carried and are proof that reconciliation is a living process grounded in community leadership.
Why remembering Nora matters
During Women’s History Month, we honour leaders like Nora Bernard, who have led with courage, upholding justice and carrying knowledge forward for generations to come.
Her story also reminds us that reconciliation cannot be separated from the ongoing fight to end violence against Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit peoples. In 2007, despite giving so much of herself to protect others, Nora’s own life was taken in violence. Her story reflects both the harms of colonization and the strength of those who resist it.
These truths connect her legacy to the national crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit Peoples (MMIWG2S). To remember Nora is to recommit ourselves to ending this violence and to ensuring safety, justice, and dignity for future generations.
Honouring her means more than remembering her name. It means:
Listening to Survivors and amplifying their voices.
Recognizing the leadership and agency of Indigenous communities.
Acting on the TRC’s Calls to Action and the MMIWG2S Calls for Justice in our families, schools, workplaces, and governments.
Nora showed us that change is possible when truth is spoken, relationships are nurtured, and courage is carried forward collectively. Her story reminds us that reconciliation is not about guilt or symbolic gestures, it is about responsibility, reciprocity, and walking together in mutual respect.
As Nora taught us, one person’s courage can spark a movement, but it is through community and collective action that legacies live on.
References and further reading:
Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey, Madeline Nora Bernard: A Legacy of Resistance and Resilience.
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