Walter Patrick Twinn (March 29, 1934 – October 30, 1997) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Chief of the

Sawridge First Nation The Sawridge First Nation is a First Nations band government in northern Alberta. Headquartered in the town of Slave Lake, it controls two Indian reserves, Sawridge 150G Sawridge 150G is an Indian reserve of the Sawridge First Nation in Albert ...

starting in 1966, and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1990 to 1997. He took control as chief just after oil was discovered on Sawridge reserve land; with the royalties from that he created a legacy for the Sawridge band by building first the Sawridge hotel and then other buildings. His funeral was held at St. Peters Celestin Roman Catholic Church on November 4. Born in

Slave Lake, Alberta Slave Lake is a town in northern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by the Municipal District of Lesser Slave River No. 124. It is approximately northwest of Edmonton. It is located on the southeast shore of Lesser Slave Lake at the junction o ...

, he was appointed to the Senate in 1990 representing the

senatorial division Canadian Senate divisions refers to two aspects of the Senate of Canada. First, it refers to the division of Canada into four regional Senate divisions of 24 senators each, as set out in section 22 of the Constitution Act, 1867.The Constitution Act ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and sitting as a Progressive Conservative. He served until his death in 1997. He was married to Catherine and had nine children. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in 1997 after returning from a ceremonial sweat lodge.Senator Walter Twinn died - CTV News - CTV Television; Scarborough carborough0 Oct 1997: n/a.

References

External links

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The Aboriginal Newspaper of Alberta
1934 births 1997 deaths Canadian senators from Alberta Progressive Conservative Party of Canada senators First Nations politicians Indigenous leaders in Alberta Indigenous Canadian senators {{NorthAm-native-bio-stub