The top 5 Indigenous news stories of 2017 as chosen by you

From the heartbreaking stories heard by the inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, to theopposition to Canada's 150th birthday, to the celebration of athletes at the North American Indigenous Games, the news never stoppedthis year.

Here are the top fiveCBC Indigenous stories from 2017, as voted by our audience.

MMIWGinquiry

The national inquiry to look into the root causes of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girlswas first announced in 2015 but it held its first community hearings this year, beginning in Whitehorse in May.

From the beginning, the inquiryhas faced criticism from the Indigenous community. As the hearings got underway, family members of missing and murdered Indigenous women have complained about a lack of communication orproper aftercare.

Amid instability of the staffing within the inquiry, there have been repeatedcalls from Indigenous leadership for an overhaul. The commissioners have asked the federal government for an extension past their December 2018 deadline.

The inquiry will continue in the new year.

Sixties Scoop settlement

This year the federal government announced ithad reached an agreement in principle topay out nearly $750 million to First Nations and Inuit people who had been adopted into non-Indigenous families during what is now known as the Sixties Scoop.

The agreement brought attention toan otherwise lesser-known tragedy within Canadian history, whereIndigenous children wereapprehended and placed with families outside of their cultural community, indifferent towns, provinces, and sometimes other countries.

The settlement will cover people who were adopted from 1951-1991. The original settlement did not include Mtis adoptees, but isbeing challenged by adoptees from the Mtis community.

North American Indigenous Games

An estimated 5,000 Indigenous athletes converged on Toronto this yearto join what was called"the largest sports and cultural gathering of Indigenous peoples on the continent."

The week-long event saw young athletes from across North America compete in 14 sports including basketball, volleyball and lacrosse.

Ontario's chef de mission called it a "life-changingevent" for Indigenous youth.

Cultural appropriation 'prize'

In May, a firestorm of controversy was ignited by an editorial inside aspecial edition ofWrite Magazinefeaturingupand coming Indigenous writers.

In the editorial called "Winning the Appropriation Prize," editor HalNiedzvieckisuggestedan award go to "an author who writes about people who aren't even remotely like her or him." The fake prize gained even more attention after prominent members of the Canadian media, including a CBC executive, suggested on Twitterthat they would chip in to fund the prize.

This prompted Indigenous writers to vocalize their opposition to cultural appropriation.Things came to a climax when Anishinaabe writer and columnistJesse Wente gave an emotionalinterview denouncing cultural appropriation.

A Toronto lawyer began a campaign to support emerging Indigenous writers and the campaign was able to raise $140,000.

Resistance to Canada 150

There was just no escaping it. From billboardsto coffee cupsto online advertisements, this year we werebombarded with reminders that Canada was celebratingits 150th birthday.

But for the Indigenous community, whether or not to join in the festivities was a personaldecision. Indigenous artists debatedwhether to take part inthe fundingopportunities offered by the celebrations.

Many Indigenous peopleusedsocial media to educate people on the dysfunctional relationship that Canada has had with the original peoples.