J. Wilton Littlechild (born 1944), known as Willie Littlechild, is a Canadian lawyer and

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

chief who was Grand Chief of the

Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations Treaty 6 is the sixth of the numbered treaties that were signed by the Canadian Crown and various First Nations between 1871 and 1877. It is one of a total of 11 numbered treaties signed between the Canadian Crown and First Nations. Specifica ...

and a

member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. A residential school survivor, he is known for his work nationally and internationally on Indigenous rights. He was born in Hobbema, now named

Maskwacis Maskwacis (; cr, ᒪᐢᑿᒌᐢ, ), renamed in 2014 from Hobbema (), is an unincorporated community in central Alberta, Canada at intersection of Highway 2A and Highway 611, approximately south of the City of Edmonton. The community consists ...

, Alberta.

Early life and education

Wilton Littlechild was born on 1 April 1944 in

Hobbema, Alberta Maskwacis (; cr, ᒪᐢᑿᒌᐢ, ), renamed in 2014 from Hobbema (), is an unincorporated community in central Alberta, Canada at intersection of Alberta Highway 2A, Highway 2A and Alberta Highway 611, Highway 611, approximately south of the C ...

. He was brought to residential school at the age of six, spending 14 years in the system until his completion of high school. He witnessed and experienced abuses during that time. As a young man, he was a successful athlete who won ten Athlete of the Year Awards. He graduated with a Bachelor of Physical Education degree in 1967, then obtained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

in 1975. During his time in university, he played on the hockey and swimming teams. He later became the first

status Indian The Indian Register is the official record of people registered under the ''Indian Act'' in Canada, called status Indians or ''registered Indians''. People registered under the ''Indian Act'' have rights and benefits that are not granted to othe ...

from

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 ...

to obtain a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

, which was earned at the University of Alberta in 1976. That year, the Cree Nations bestowed him with a headdress as an honorary chief and endowed him with his grandfather's Cree name, Mahihgan Pimoteyw, which means Walking Wolf.

Career

Littlechild was a member of the 1977 Indigenous delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

and worked on the UN's

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or DOTROIP) is a legally non-binding resolution passed by the United Nations in 2007. It delineates and defines the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples, including th ...

. He won the national

Tom Longboat Award The Tom Longboat Awards were established in 1951 to recognize Aboriginal athletes "for their outstanding contributions to sport in Canada" and continues "to honour Indigenous athletes across Canada" annually. As a program of the Aboriginal Sport ...

in 1967 and 1974, and was one of the founders of the

North American Indigenous Games The North American Indigenous Games is a multi-sport event involving indigenous North American athletes staged intermittently since 1990. The Games are governed by the North American Indigenous Games Council, a 26-member council of representatives ...

, begun in 1990 in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Alberta. He has also consistently advocated for the creation of the

World Indigenous Games The World Indigenous Games is a multisport event, which involves over 2,000 indigenous athletes competing against one another. These athletes come from all across the world to unite and compete fairly in this event (approximately 30 countries) (201 ...

, which provides competitive events for Indigenous athletes from around the world. Littlechild was the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

Member of Parliament for

Wetaskiwin Wetaskiwin ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. The city is located south of the provincial capital of Edmonton. The city name comes from the Cree word ''wītaskiwinihk'', meaning "the hills where peace was made". Wetaskiwin is ...

from 1988 to 1993. Littlechild did not stand for re-election in the 1993 general election. After leaving

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, Littlechild continued to be involved in politics. He was the founder of the International Organization of Indigenous Resource Development, a United Nations

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

. Littlechild is a member of the

Ermineskin Cree Nation Ermineskin Cree Nation also known as the Ermineskin Tribe ( cr, ᓀᔮᐢᑵᔮᕽ, ), is a Cree First Nations band government in Alberta, Canada. A signatory to Treaty 6, Ermineskin is one of the Four Nations of Maskwacis, Alberta's largest ...

. The

Indian Association of Alberta The Indian Association of Alberta is a province-wide First Nations rights organization. It was founded by John Callihoo and John Laurie in 1939, after splitting off from the League of Indians in Western Canada. Origins and expansion Before 1946 ...

presents the Willie Littlechild Achievement Award to six

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

students each year. In 2006, Littlechild was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of the

Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians The Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians (CAFP) is a non-profit organization, established by an Act of the Parliament of Canada, the membership of which is composed of former members of the Senate or House of Commons of Canada. Hist ...

, awarded for "outstanding contributions to the promotion and understanding of Canada's

parliamentary system of government A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

". In 2009, Littlechild was appointed as a commissioner to the

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC; french: Commission de vérité et réconciliation du Canada []) was a truth and reconciliation commission active in Canada from 2008 to 2015, organized by the parties of the Indian Reside ...

where he served for six years until the commission's final report and dissolution. Littlechild received the Indspire Award for law and justice in 2015. On 30 November 2016, he became Grand Chief of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, becoming the first "non-sitting" chief to hold the position, and subsequently served for three years. In 2018, he was inducted into the

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...

. In 2019, Littlechild won the

Pearson Peace Medal The Pearson Medal of Peace is an award given out annually by the United Nations Association in Canada to recognize an individual Canadian's "contribution to international service". Nominations are made by any Canadian for any Canadian, excluding sel ...

. During Pope Francis' visit to Canada in 2022, Littlechild presented the Pontiff with a traditional Indian

headdress Headgear, headwear, or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, de ...

, generating mixed reactions from the Indigenous community.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Littlechild, Willie Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Canadian King's Counsel Lawyers in Alberta First Nations politicians First Nations sportspeople Cree people Living people 1944 births Members of the Alberta Order of Excellence Indigenous Members of the House of Commons of Canada University of Alberta Faculty of Law alumni Indspire Awards Members of the Order of Canada Political office-holders of Indigenous governments in Canada Indigenous leaders in Alberta

Early life and education

Career

See also

References