CBC Indigenous' top 5 stories that shaped 2018

Here are five of thestories that made headlines in 2018.

Justice system under scrutiny

On the evening of Friday,Feb.9, a Saskatchewan jury found rancher Gerald Stanley not guilty of second degree murder in the shooting death of Red Pheasant Cree Nation manColten Boushie. Stanley shotBoushiein the head after Boushieand four friends drove onto the Stanley property in August 2016. Stanley said he thought his handgun was empty and that the gun fired accidentally.

On Feb. 22, Raymond Cormier was found not guilty of second degree murder inthe death of Tina Fontaine, a 15-year-old girl from theSagkeengFirst Nationin Manitoba. Her body was found in Winnipeg's Red River, wrapped in a duvet cover and weighed down with rocks, on Aug. 17, 2014.

The Crown gave no physical or eyewitness evidence linking Cormier to the death. Instead, their case relied heavily on secretly recorded statements made by Cormier, along with testimony from witnesses who said they saw Cormier and Tina together in the days before she disappeared.

In June, a Hamilton jury found Peter Khill not guilty of second degree murder in the death of Jon Styres, a member of Six Nations of the Grand Riverfrom Ohsweken, Ont. Khillsaid he shot Styresinself-defence after hefound him attempting to steal his truck.

The three cases sparkedcallsfor changes to aspects of Canada's criminal justice systemsuch as police procedure and jury selection, and in Fontaine's case, there were calls for changes to Child and Family Services. The families of ColtenBoushie and Jon Styres have filed lawsuits.

MMIWG Inquiry

The national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girlshas faced a number of obstacles since its start in 2016, includinghigh profile resignations and concerns from survivors and family members onaftercare.

In March, the commissioners asked the federal government for a two-year extension and an additional $50 million to complete their work.Instead, theygot an extension for writing the final report to April 30, 2019, and an additional two months to wind down its operations by June 30.

Over the course of the inquiry, 1,484 people chose to participate in the truth-gathering process,sharing their stories of loss and survival.

The inquiry held its final hearings in Ottawa in December.

Trans Mountain pipeline

The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project dominated headlinesin 2018 as provinces, First Nations and the federal government battled each other and among themselves.

In May, the Liberal government announced that it was purchasing the controversial project from Kinder Morgan for $4.5 billion. In August, the Federal Court of Appeal quashed the approval of thepipeline expansion. The court found the National Energy Board's assessment of the project was so flawed that it should not have been relied on by the federal cabinet when it gavefinal approval to proceed in November 2016.

The NEB has to do re-do an environmental assessment on tanker traffic and itsconsultationwith Indigenous Peoples. That process has begun and will continue into 2019.

Thunder Bay

TheThunder Bay Police Service and its boardwerethe subject of two highly critical reports thisDecember.

The Office of the Independent Police Review Director, Ontario's independent police watchdog, found there was evidence that racism played a role in the way police handled death cases involving Indigenous people. It called fornine deaths of Indigenous peoplein Thunder Bay to be reinvestigated.

Another report done on behalf of the Ontario Civilian Police Commission by Sen. Murray Sinclair foundthe police boardfailed in its oversight of the Thunder Bay police amid persistent allegations of systemic racism. The OCPCordered an administrator to take over the board'sduties while it is rebuilt.

Indigenous rightsrecognition framework

In February, Prime Minister Trudeau announced the government was planning to table a newFederal Recognition and Implementation of Indigenous Rights Framework.

The proposed framework floundered from lack of support and confusion from many First Nations who expressed frustration with the processand a discussion paper released by Ottawa in September on the issue.

Ottawa was aiming to tablethe proposed legislation before Christmas in hopes of hitting itslast window of opportunityto get it through the parliamentary process by late spring,ahead of next fall's federal election, but it has yet to developa draft for the framework.

Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett's office saidwork would continue to develop the framework to enshrine Section 35 rights in the Constitution infederal law.