Patricia Monture-Angus (September 24, 1958 – November 17, 2010) was a Canadian

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...

lawyer, activist, educator and author. Monture-Angus graduated from Queen's University law school in May 1988, and went on to briefly study (but did not graduate) at

Osgoode Hall Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is named for William Osgood ...

. In August 1988, Monture-Angus filed a suit in Ontario's Supreme Court stating that she should not be required to take an oath of allegiance to the Queen because she is a member of a sovereign nation. According to Sections 4 and 5 of the Public Officers Act, R.S.O. 1980, c. 4 15 as amended, and Rules 53 (4) and 5 1 under the Law Society Act which stated that any person appointed to any office in Ontario or called as a barrister or admitted as a solicitor must declare the following oath: Monture-Angus argued that she was a member of a sovereign people, the

Mohawk Nation The Mohawk people ( moh, Kanienʼkehá꞉ka) are the most easterly section of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy. They are an Iroquoian-speaking Indigenous people of North America, with communities in southeastern Canada and norther ...

, whose

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

has never been surrendered or extinguished. This sovereignty has been consistently recognized through

treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

and historical custom, both pre-dating

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

and continuing uninterrupted thereafter. The case never went to court. The Law Society agreed to change its rules and make the oath optional. Monture-Angus was called to the Ontario bar in January 1994. Monture-Angus taught law at Dalhousie University and at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

's Common Law School before accepting a position in the Department of Native Studies at the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

in 1994. She was granted tenure in 1998 and promoted to full professor in 1999. She married Denis Angus of the

Thunderchild First Nation Thunderchild First Nation is an independent Cree First Nations band government in Turtleford, Saskatchewan, Canada with no affiliation with any Tribal Council. It is located approximately 113 kilometers northwest of North Battleford. European sett ...

Cree Nation, of

Treaty Six 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 ...

, in 1991. Patricia Monture-Angus died on November 17, 2010, in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in 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 the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

Publications

*''Thunder in my Soul: A Mohawk Woman Speaks''. Fernwood Publishing, Halifax, 1995. *''Journeying Forward: Dreaming First Nations' Independence.'' Fernwood Publishing, Halifax, 1999. *''First Voices: An Aboriginal Women's Reader'' Monture-Angus, Patricia and Patricia Mcguire (Eds). Inanna Publications, Toronto, 2009.

References

External links

"The Challenge"Bold Steps and New Partnerships:Proposals for University-First Nations Relations and the Return of Self-Government
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monture-Angus, Patricia Academic staff of the University of Saskatchewan Canadian Mohawk people Canadian women non-fiction writers Canadian legal scholars 2010 deaths First Nations women writers 1958 births 20th-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century First Nations writers 21st-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers 21st-century First Nations writers Women legal scholars Canadian indigenous women academics First Nations academics