On July 20, 1981, fifty Indigenous women—calling themselves the Concerned Aboriginal Women—occupied the Department of Indian Affairs office in B.C., issuing a statement regarding the suffering and oppression experienced by the “aboriginal people of this land.” Over the next eight days, the action won widespread attention and support from various Indigenous and community groups. The number of occupiers grew to over one hundred before the Vancouver City Police forcibly removed them from the office.
“We can no longer stand for this oppression and for this reason we, the aboriginal women, occupied the Department of Indian Affairs offices here in Vancouver.”