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Sharon Macivor has done a lot for native women's rights, but she isn't taking all the credit.

The British Columbia lawyer best known for a 22-year legal battle over discriminatory status laws was in Fredericton recently.

She delivered a speech at Wilmot United Church to members of the public and representatives from Tobique First Nation, whom she credited for being the first to bring attention to native women's issues.

In 1979, women from Tobique organized a now famous march from Oka, Que., to Parliament Hill to protest gender inequality among Canadian aboriginals.

"They had serious problems in their community around housing for women and regaining status and they took a stand," she said. "It paved the way for women's issues because they were the first to bring national attention to the plight of aboriginal women."

Macivor also planned to visit the Tobique reserve, located near Perth-Andover.

"I'm honoured to come out and to meet the women of Tobique," she said. "Some of them are still alive and some of them have passed on, but I'm absolutely thrilled just to be here."

Macivor's quest for equality for native women began in 1985. A daughter of a status women but a non-status father, she was considered a native but her son wasn't.

Had it been her father who had status, her son would have had it too. She launched a complaint - which was denied - and then in 1990 filed to have a lawyer hear the case.

Sixteen years later she finally got her day in court and that court case eventually led to a sweeping victory for Macivor, although the government is appealing that decision.

"I never would have thought there would be so much opposition," she said. "To me, it seems so simple. If we don't address the wrongs, I don't think we will ever have a country that we can proudly say treats everyone equally."

If Macivor's victory stands, she estimates it will benefit 200,000 First Nations Canadians.