Frank Arthur Calder, (August 3, 1915 – November 4, 2006) was a
Nisga'a politician in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
Born in
Nass Harbour, British Columbia, Calder was the first indigenous person to graduate from the Anglican Theological College of the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
. Mr. Calder was an hereditary chief of the House of Wisinxbiltkw from the
Killerwhale Tribe. He died November 4, 2006 at an assisted-living home in Victoria from the effects of cancer and recent abdominal surgery.
Political career
In the
1949 British Columbia election, Calder was elected to the
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria. Members ar ...
. He was elected in the riding of
Atlin where he continued to serve until 1979. Calder represented BC's
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...
(which later became the
New Democratic Party of British Columbia
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
).
Calder was appointed cabinet member in
Dave Barrett's government in 1972 and became BC's first aboriginal cabinet minister. In 1973, police found him in a consensual situation involving a female companion, alcohol and a car parked in an intersection. He was arrested but not charged and was fired from cabinet.
[Sandra Martin, "Obituary: FRANK CALDER, POLITICIAN AND NISGA'A CHIEF: 1915-2006; The ‘dream child' started a native land-claims case that would reverberate across Canada and around the world", ''Globe and Mail'', November 9, 2006] In 1974 he was defeated by
Joseph Gosnell
Joseph Arthur Gosnell Sr. (June 21, 1936 – August 18, 2020) was a Canadian tribal leader who led the Nisga'a people of northern British Columbia.
The son of Eli and Mary Gosnell, he was born at Arrandale, British Columbia, Arrandale Cannery and ...
in his bid to be re-elected as president of the Nisga'a Tribal Council.
[
In 1975, Calder crossed the floor to join the Social Credit Party of British Columbia and was re-elected. In 1979, however, Calder lost his seat to the NDP candidate, Al Passarell, by a single vote. Calder and his wife had both neglected to vote.
]
Fighting for treaty rights
Calder is famous for the court case titled " Calder vs. Attorney General of British Columbia", which was argued by Thomas Berger. By appealing the case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
, Calder established that Aboriginal title
Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...
exists in modern Canadian law. This decision had national and international reverberations. In addition, it was the basis of BC's Nisga'a treaty.
Before the Calder Case, there was no clear process for negotiating Canadian land claim settlements. Calder clarified which lands were negotiable (40% of Canada's land mass) and which were not. After the case, Canada developed a land claim policy to guide negotiations. He continued to fight for Nisga'a's treaty rights as recently as 2000.
Calder founded the Nisga'a Tribal Council
The Nisga'a Tribal Council was the governing coalition of the band governments of the Nisga'a people. It was replaced by the Nisga'a Lisims Government as a result of the signing of the Nisga'a Treaty with Canada and British Columbia.
See also
...
, the first tribal council established in BC. Calder was its president for 21 years until 1974.
Honours
* 1987 - Made an Officer of the Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
.
* Awarded the Aboriginal Order of Canada.
* 1996 - National Aboriginal Achievement Awar
* 2004 - Awarded the Order of British Columbia
The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier B ...
.
References
External links
In memory of Dr. Frank Calder, Chief of Chiefs
Eulogy from the Diocese of New Westminster web pages
* ttp://www.orderofbc.gov.bc.ca/members/obc-2004/2004-frank-calder/ Calder's Order of British Columbia biography
Calder in the Canadian Encyclopedia
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calder, Frank
1915 births
2006 deaths
20th-century Canadian legislators
20th-century First Nations people
21st-century First Nations people
British Columbia Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MLAs
British Columbia New Democratic Party MLAs
British Columbia Social Credit Party MLAs
Canadian Anglicans
Deaths from cancer in British Columbia
First Nations politicians
Indigenous leaders in British Columbia
Indspire Awards
Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia
Members of the Order of British Columbia
Nisga'a people
Officers of the Order of Canada
People from the Regional District of Kitimat–Stikine
University of British Columbia alumni