J. Wilton Littlechild

J. Wilton Littlechild (born April 1, 1944 in the Ermineskin Cree Reserve near Hobbema , Alberta ; actually Jacob Wilton Littlechild ) is a Canadian Indian and civil rights activist .

Life

School time, studies, sports career

The school time ( elementary and secondary school) spent the member of the Cree at the Ermineskin School and at St. Anthony's College . He then studied in Edmonton at the University of Alberta , where he got his bachelor's degree in 1967 and his master's degree in 1975 , both in physical education (exercise and health).

He began his sports career with the university swimming and hockey team and was promoted to manager of the local football club . At the same time he received the Alberta Award for Excellence in Athletics .

In 1990 he was one of the co-initiators of the first North American Indigenous Games (about: North American Native American Games ) in Edmonton. These first games were followed by other events of this type in 1993, 1995, 1997 and 2002.

Law degree and political career

But Littlechild was not satisfied with his sporting successes. He successfully completed a law degree at the University of Alberta in 1976 , making him the first Indian in the province of Alberta to do so. In 1988 he moved into parliament as a representative of the Wetaskiwin constituency , making him the first Treaty Indian (" Treaty Indian ", which refers to the so-called Numbered Treaties ) to succeed.

During this time he was a member of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and the Special Joint Committee on Constitution , with which he had positioned himself particularly well to improve the rights of indigenous peoples . In the battle for the Canadian Constitution of 1982 Littlechild had also become a member of the British High Court in London (1980 and 1981)

International institutions

His activities extended to the UN and the International Labor Organization (International Labor Organization). There he made sure that the Canadian natives received a seat that was equipped with voting rights. He was also a co-founder of the International Organization of Indigenous Resource Development (for example: International Organization for the Development of Indigenous Resources) and the Indigenous Peace Initiative.

Web links

Littlechild on the website of the UN , or the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Remarks

↑ See NAIG History ( Memento from December 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), December 10, 2008.

personal data
SURNAME	Littlechild, J. Wilton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Littlechild, Jacob Wilton
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Canadian American Indian civil rights activist
DATE OF BIRTH	April 1, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH	Ermineskin Cree Reserve , Alberta

[1] See NAIG History ( Memento from December 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), December 10, 2008.