My name is Tori Cress and I am the single mother of two kids, Lucas 21 and my 20 year old special needs son Marty. I am an Idle No More community organizer and advocate for Indigenous rights and environmental protections for our lands and waters across Turtle Island.
Now the struggle for Indigenous rights has literally come to my doorstep and I need your support to stop the authorities from forcibly removing my family and I from our home.
On November 15th 2016, my ex-husband’s father served me with an eviction notice to have my children and I removed from the home that my ex-husband and I built together and that my children and I have lived in for over 8 years. This home was built on land that I bought and paid for, but because the land is on the Wahta reserve and I am a member of the nearby Beausoleil First Nation, I do not hold legal title to the land. When my ex-husband and I separated he and his father retained title and I was left with nothing.
An APTN article published in November summarized the challenges my family and I face.
“Cress’ case highlights the risks faced by Indigenous women, non-band members, and non-Indigenous people living on First Nations with regard to their matrimonial property rights. Prior to a new law passed in December 2014, the federal Indian Act did not address the division of property when a couple separated — a gap in the law that critics say left many women unprotected and homeless.”
Since November I have been fighting inside and outside the courts to prevent my children and I from being forcibly removed from our house and becoming homeless. I have been fighting to establish a matrimonial property claim, I have been fighting to stay in our home at least until my special needs child has finished the school year, and I have been fighting to win a settlement for the value of the land that I purchased and the home that I built.
Money from this campaign will be used to cover the costs of a lawyer for my family and I during the next round of this legal battle. I am so grateful to all who have supported me and my family over the last months inside and outside the courtroom.
For some background here is the most recent APTN coverage of what we are facing:
