Jim Sinclair (June 3, 1933 – November 9, 2012) was a

Non-Status Indian In Canada, the term non-status Indian refers to any First Nations person who for whatever reason is not registered with the federal government, or is not registered to a band which signed a treaty with the Crown. For several decades, status Indi ...

leader from

Punnichy Punnichy ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Mount Hope No. 279 and Census Division No. 10. It is approximately northeast of the City of Regina. This village is part o ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Canada.Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
/ref> Despite his Non-Status, rather than Métis, background, for many years he was one of the pre-eminent

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

leaders in Canada. Jim served as president of the Métis Society of Saskatchewan, and the Association of Métis and Non-Status Indians of Saskatchewan (AMNSIS), forerunners of the contemporary

Métis Nation - Saskatchewan The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which deriv ...

. He had a difficult youth as a road allowance person, and struggled with

alcohol addiction Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

. After beating his addiction Jim worked extensively at community level organization among his people, to get them to sober up, take responsibility for their lives, and to lead others in the struggle for their rights. He learned to become an expert at using the media, at using confrontation politics to force government to deal with peoples' immediate needs and rights. He focused on issues such as housing,

institutional racism Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, health ...

, Aboriginal land rights, hunting, fishing, and trapping rights, and education. He was part of the team who helped to establish a major network of alcohol treatment centers, along with the

Gabriel Dumont Institute The Gabriel Dumont Institute (GDI), formally the Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Research Inc., is a non-profit corporation serving the educational and cultural needs of the Saskatchewan Métis and Non-Status Indian commu ...

of Métis Studies and Applied Research. In 1987, during the Canadian constitutional talks that led to the

Meech Lake Accord The Meech Lake Accord (french: Accord du lac Meech) was a series of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and all 10 Canadian provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the gove ...

, Sinclair took a strong stance against Premiers

Grant Devine Donald Grant Devine, SOM (born July 5, 1944) was the 11th premier of Saskatchewan from May 8, 1982 to November 1, 1991. Early life Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, he received a BSc in Agriculture degree specializing in Agricultural Economics i ...

of Saskatchewan and

Bill Vander Zalm William Nicholas Vander Zalm (born Wilhelmus Nicholaas Theodore Marie van der Zalm; May 29, 1934) is a politician and entrepreneur in British Columbia, Canada. He was the 28th premier of British Columbia from 1986 to 1991. Early life Wilhelmus Ni ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

for what he saw as their antagonism to Métis rights. From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Sinclair led the national

Congress of Aboriginal Peoples The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) (formerly the Native Council of Canada and briefly the Indigenous Peoples Assembly of Canada), founded in 1971, is a national Canadian aboriginal organization, that represents Aboriginal peoples ( Non-Sta ...

. From 1996 up until his death he was President of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples of Saskatchewan. Sinclair was awarded the Order of the Métis Nation in 2004 for a lifetime of service to the Aboriginal community. On October 25, 2012, he was honoured at the Saskatchewan Indian Nation Assembly. Sinclair died on November 9, 2012, at the age of 79 after battling cancer.Cancer claims Metis leader Jim Sinclair
/ref>

References

Indigenous politicians of the Americas Indigenous leaders in Saskatchewan 1933 births 2012 deaths Indspire Awards Non-Status Indians Métis in Saskatchewan {{Saskatchewan-politician-stub

See also

References