Michael Posluns

Last updated
Michael Posluns
Born1941
Canada
DiedJanuary 10, 2020(2020-01-10) (aged 78–79)
Nationality Canadian
Alma mater York University
Occupation(s)Journalist, researcher, advocate

Michael Posluns (1941 - January 10, 2020) was a journalist and researcher in Canada. While a student at Carleton University, Posluns got involved in social justice issues, later joining the Company of Young Canadians. He went to Akwesasne where he worked with Rarihokwats and Ernie Benedict, helping to publish Akewsasne Notes , a local newspaper that ran from 1969-1996. [1] He also became a self-trained court worker, assisting locals to navigate the legal system. In the mid-1970s, he served as a parliamentary adviser to the National Indian Brotherhood (known today as the Assembly of First Nations), working with George Manuel. He also worked with the Dene Nation and others on governance, land claims, mercury poisoning and other issues. Posluns completed a PhD at York University in 2002 and his dissertation is titled The Public Emergence of the Vocabulary of First Nations Self-Government. [2] [3] He was the author of numerous other articles and books and he was co-author with George Manuel of 'The Fourth World: An Indian Reality' (1974) and with David Nahwegahbow and Douglas Sanders of 'The First Nations and the Crown: A Study in Trust Relationships' (1983). Posluns was an important figure in raising the profile of indigenous rights in Canada. [4] He worked closely with George Manuel to advance self-government and indigenous political rights and their work had significant impact on the work of future political actors. [5] In speaking to The Globe and Mail in 2013 Posluns cited some of his early advocacy work in the 1970s involved changing the language the government used to refer to indigenous peoples. [6] For example members of Canadian parliament would refer to activist Kahnitenata Horn as a "Mohawk princess," demonstrating an ignorance of the democratic governance structures of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Posluns continued to advocate on issues related to governance and challenging myths and problematic language related to indigenous peoples of Canada, writing opinion columns and policy statements up to 2013. [6] He retired from this work in 2014 due to illness. He died on January 10, 2020. [7]

Contents

Works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous peoples in Canada</span> Indigenous peoples within the boundaries of Canada

In Canada, Indigenous groups comprise the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. Although Indian is a term still commonly used in legal documents, the descriptors Indian and Eskimo have fallen into disuse in Canada, and most consider them to be pejorative. Aboriginal peoples as a collective noun is a specific term of art used in some legal documents, including the Constitution Act, 1982, though in most Indigenous circles Aboriginal has also fallen into disfavour.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations</span> Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assembly of First Nations</span> First Nations organization in Canada

The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is an assembly of Canadian First Nations represented by their chiefs. Established in 1982 and modelled on the United Nations General Assembly, it emerged from the National Indian Brotherhood, which dissolved in the late 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada</span> Department of the government of Canada

Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for Canada's northern lands and territories, and one of two departments with responsibility for policies relating to Indigenous peoples in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akwesasne</span> Mohawk Territory

The Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne is a Mohawk Nation (Kanienʼkehá:ka) territory that straddles the intersection of international borders and provincial boundaries on both banks of the St. Lawrence River. Although divided by an international border, the residents consider themselves to be one community. They maintain separate police forces due to jurisdictional issues and national laws.

George Manuel, OC was an Aboriginal leader in Canada. Born and raised in British Columbia, he became politically active there and in Alberta. In 1970 he was elected and served until 1976 as chief of the National Indian Brotherhood. In 1975 he founded and became president of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples, serving until 1981.

In Canada, an Indian band or band, sometimes referred to as a First Nation band or simply a First Nation, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subject to the Indian Act. Bands are typically small groups of people: the largest in the country, the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation had 22,294 members in September 2005, and many have a membership below 100 people. Each First Nation is typically represented by a band council chaired by an elected chief, and sometimes also a hereditary chief. As of 2013, there were 614 bands in Canada. Membership in a band is controlled in one of two ways: for most bands, membership is obtained by becoming listed on the Indian Register maintained by the government. As of 2013, there were 253 First Nations which had their own membership criteria, so that not all status Indians are members of a band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Aboriginal law</span> Canadian law regarding indigenous people

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<i>Gradual Civilization Act</i> 1857 Act for the enfranchisement of Canadian Indians

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pimicikamak government</span>

Pimicikamak is an indigenous people in Canada. Pimicikamak is related to, but constitutionally, legally, historically and administratively distinct from, the Cross Lake First Nation which is a statutory creation that provides services on behalf of the Canadian Government. Pimicikamak government is based on self-determination and has a unique form.

The Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty No. 3 is a sovereign Anishinaabe Nation in Canada. It has existed as a self-governing people with its own laws and government institutions since time immemorial, before the arrival of European settlers. "America, separated from Europe by a wide ocean, was inhabited by ... separate nations, independent of each other and of the rest of the world, having institutions of their own, and governing themselves by their own laws." "The territory included in Treaty #3 in 1873 was governed by a Grand Council of Anishinaabe Chiefs. ... This civil leadership was responding to other political ranks and ultimately to the constituent families." The Nation is, by constitutional definition, the Anishinaabe people that entered into Treaty 3 with the Crown in 1873.

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Arthur Manuel was a First Nations political leader in Canada. The son of Marceline Paul of the Ktunaxa Nation and political leader George Manuel of the Secwepemc Nation, he grew up on the Neskonlith Reserve in the interior of British Columbia. He attended the Kamloops, St Eugene's and St. Mary's residential schools, Concordia University and Osgoode Hall Law School. He was the father of five children.

Indigenous or Aboriginal self-government refers to proposals to give governments representing the Indigenous peoples in Canada greater powers of government. These proposals range from giving Aboriginal governments powers similar to that of local governments in Canada to demands that Indigenous governments be recognized as sovereign, and capable of "nation-to-nation" negotiations as legal equals to the Crown, as well as many other variations.

Leroy Little Bear is a Blackfoot researcher, professor emeritus at the University of Lethbridge, founding member of Canada's first Native American Studies Department, and recognized leader and advocate for First Nations education, rights, self-governance, language and culture. He has received numerous awards and recognition for his work, including the Officer Order of Canada, and the Alberta Order of Excellence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie Smallface Marule</span> Canadian academic administrator, activist, and educator

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References

  1. ↑ George-Kanentiio, D. (February 2011). "Ernest Kaientaronkwen Benedict: (1918-2011) Akwesasne's Conscience". Indian Country News. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  2. ↑ "Michael Posluns fonds (F0382)". 2003-05-06. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  3. ↑ Posluns, Michael Wilfred (2013-08-30). "The Allocation of Burdens in Litigation Between First Nations and the Crown".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ↑ Alia, Valerie (2013-07-15). The New Media Nation: Indigenous Peoples and Global Communication. Berghahn Books. ISBN   9780857454096.
  5. ↑ Posluns, Michael W. (2006-10-27). Speaking with Authority: The Emergence of the Vocabulary of First Nations' Self-Government. Routledge. ISBN   9781135940393.
  6. 1 2 Posluns, Michael (2013-01-15). "First nation myths remain woven into the Canadian fabric". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  7. ↑ "Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel - Service Details". www.benjaminsparkmemorialchapel.ca. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
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