Whether it is a Canadian government sanctioned report or a United Nations' study, native Canadian women and children living on Indian reserves, are the most disadvantaged of all Canadian citizens. The lack of matrimonial property rights is one reason for the disparity.

Throughout Canada, provincial family law governs the division of assets and child custody upon dissolution of marriage. Yet because Canada's constitution stipulates the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over "Indians and lands reserve for the Indians," the federal Indian Act is the law that ultimately governs native Canadians living on reserves.

Canadian courts have ruled that only the Indian Act can apply to property on reserves - regrettably, the Indian Act is mute on the subject of matrimonial property rights. According to the Department of Indian Affairs, native bands operating under the Indian Act can adopt policies to govern the granting of allocations of land that take into account matrimonial real property considerations.

It is true the First Nations Land Management Act does deal explicitly with the division of matrimonial property, however the development of land codes are a community responsibility. In many cases this is little if any improvement over the status quo.

The land possession system of the Indian Act does not prohibit women from possessing property on reserves, however, the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs has indicated most certificates of possession are held by native men. This is an important point since property rights on reserves determine child custody and access rights. Native men have the upper hand when it comes to child custody and divorce settlements.

Women must ask their band council if they may stay in their family house and if they may retain custody of their children. As indicated earlier, property rights on reserves determine child custody and access rights, leading to many native women to not only become homeless, but loose custody and access to their children.

There are several ways to alleviate these situations. Two solutions would be to amend the Indian Act to incorporate the applicable provincial matrimonial law or provide for individual private property rights on reserves.

Since the Indian Act does not deal with matrimonial property rights, it would require a parliamentary amendment to change that. True, the constitution gives the federal government exclusive jurisdiction over native reserves; this does not mean however that the federal government can not delegate some of its jurisdiction. A simple parliamentary amendment could allow for the appropriate provincial marriage laws to apply on reserves.

Reserve land is now held in trust by the Canadian government and not by the native Canadian community members. This land needs to be transferred to the individuals of the native community. This would enable the native communities to establish individual private property rights, thereby providing women - and men - greater certainty over property ownership.

As more and more aboriginal women's organization are established throughout Canada, Canadians will become more aware of the plight of native women and children who live on reserves. Given the speed at which politicians have dealt with native issues in the past, it will likely take a great deal of public pressure to force the politicians to act for the benefit of aboriginal women and children. For the sake of native women and children, let's hope they move quickly on this issue.