Alexander Denny (July 26, 1940 – 2004), otherwise known as Kji-keptin (Grand Captain) Alex Denny of the
Mi'kmaq Grand Council, both a founding member and two-term president (1974–1976 and 1992–1995) of the
UNSI (Union of Nova Scotia Indians), was most prominently known for the role he played in the ongoing battle for recognition of Mi'kmaq treaties and Aboriginal rights. Born to the
Eskasoni First Nation
The Eskasoni Mi'kmaw Nation is a band government of the Mi'kmaq Nation, located in Unama'ki (Cape Breton), Nova Scotia, Canada. As of 2021, Eskasoni has a membership of 4,675. Of this population, 3,973 live on-Reserve, and 667 live off-Reserve.
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and raised by two elders in the community, Denny was taught the importance of Mi'kmaq treaties from a young age. His passion for and knowledge of his community ultimately led Denny to be credited with attaining linguistic and political rights for the Mi'kmaq Nation at an international level.
["About Alex Denny." ''Cape Breton University'', Cape Breton University, 25 Mar. 2021, https://www.cbu.ca/indigenous-affairs/unamaki-college/kji-keptin-alexander-denny-lnuisultimkeweyokuom/alex-denny-about/.] Additionally, It was Denny and the UNSI that organized the very first Treaty Day.
Early life
Denny's early years were spent in the Eskasoni Nation, where he was born. He acquired much of his knowledge about Mi'kmaq treaties and traditions from his father Andrew, an Elder of the community who along with his wife Mary Anne Denny raised Denny.
Education
Denny attended school in Eskasoni until the age of 14. He was then sent to Chatham, New Brunswick, to attend boarding school until he moved to PEI, where he attended St. Dunstan’s High School. Denny eventually went on to pursue a degree in business.
Political involvement
Union of Nova Scotia Indians
In 1969, Denny, alongside Joe B. Marshall, Noel Doucette, Greg Johnson and Stan Johnson, established the UNSI in response to the
1969 White Paper
The 1969 White Paper (officially entitled Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian Policy) was a policy paper proposal set forth by the Government of Canada related to First Nations. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and his Minister of Indian A ...
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The goal of the white paper was to establish equality between Indigenous peoples and Canadians by eliminating the legislated difference between the two groups which would include "abolishing the Indian Act, phasing out the treaties, and transferring the responsibility for Indigenous peoples from the federal government to the provinces". This proposal stood in stark contrast to the Mi'kmaq's ongoing battle for recognition of their treaties and Aboriginal rights.
Mi'kmaq Society v. Canada
Denny initiated the conversation with the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations in 1980 in reference to Canada's continual ignorance of Mi'kmaq treaties and Aboriginal rights. The following is a famous quote from his letter: "Canada has and continues to deny our right to self-determination; Canada has and continues to involuntarily confiscate our territory despite the terms of our treaties; Canada has and continues to deprive our people of its own means of subsistence".
[Battiste, Marie, editor. "Appendix 3: Communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee about Treaty Violations." ''Living Treaties: Narrating Mi'kmaw Treaty Relations'', Nimbus Publishing, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2018, p. 290. ] Unfortunately, due to a technicality, Denny's communication was deemed inadmissible.
Treaty Day
Treaty Day
Treaty Day is celebrated by Nova Scotians annually on October 1 in recognition of the Treaties signed between the British Empire and the Mi'kmaq people. The first treaty was signed in 1725 after Father Rale's War. The final Halifax Treaties of 1 ...
, organized by Denny and other UNSI, first took place October 1st, 1986, was established in response to the Simon v. The Queen (1985) trial, which validated the 1752 Mi'kmaq peace and friendship treaty. Although it was not explicitly Denny who attained linguistic and political rights for the Mi'kmaq Nation, the verdict of this trial validated the decades worth of research that he and the UNSI had done about these topics.
[Marshall, Joe B., and Marie Battiste. "Treaty Advocacy and Treaty Imperative through Mi'Kmaw Leadership: Remembering with Joe B. Marshall." ''Living Treaties: Narrating Mi'kmaw Treaty Relations'', edited by Marie Battiste, Nimbus Publishing, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2018, p. 156. ]
References
Bibliography
* "About Alex Denny." ''Cape Breton University'', Cape Breton University, 25 Mar. 2021,
https://www.cbu.ca/indigenous-affairs/unamaki-college/kji-keptin-alexander-denny-lnuisultimkeweyokuom/alex-denny-about/.
* Battiste, Marie Ann, editor. ''Living Treaties: Narrating Mi'kmaw Treaty Relations''. Cape Breton University Press, 2016.
* "Mi'Kmaq Society v. Canada." ''Mi'kmaq Society v. Canada - Indigenous Law Centre - University of Saskatchewan'', University of Saskatchewan,
https://indigenouslaw.usask.ca/publications/mikmaq-society-v.-canada.php.
* Nickel, Sarah. "Reconsidering 1969: The White Paper and the Making of the Modern Indigenous Rights Movement." ''Canadian Historical Review'', vol. 100, no. 2, 2019, p. 224., .
Eskasoni First Nation people
1940 births
2004 deaths
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