Edward John (born July 8, 1949) is a prominent

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

political leader in Canada.

Early life

The son of Louis and Amelia John, he was born in the Carrier village of Tachie, along the north shore of

Stuart Lake Stuart Lake, or Nak'albun ("Mount Pope Lake", ) in the Carrier (Dakelh) language is a lake situated in the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. The town of Fort St. James is situated by the lake near the outlet ( Stuart River or Nak' ...

, about 60 km from Fort St. James, British Columbia. He holds the name 'Ukailch'oh (Carrier Linguistic Committee spelling, often spelled ''Akile Ch'oh'') in the Lusilyoo clan. He has three grown children from his first marriage. He is currently married to former

Musqueam The Musqueam Nation ( Hunquminum: ) is a First Nation whose traditional territory encompasses the western half of what is now Greater Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. It is governed by a band council and is known officially as the Musq ...

chief Wendy Grant-John. He attended

Lejac Residential School Lejac Residential School was a Canadian residential school system, Canadian residential school in British Columbia that operated from 1922 to 1976 by the Roman Catholic Church under contract with the Government of Canada. Construction of the schoo ...

, Prince George College, and

Notre Dame University College Notre Dame University College was a private university in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1950 by the Roman Catholic diocese of Nelson and opened with twelve students. In 1951 Notre Dame became affiliated as a junior college ...

in Nelson, B.C. before receiving a B.A. in sociology (with distinction) from the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

in 1974 and an LL.B. from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

in 1979. He practiced law as a solo practitioner in Prince George, British Columbia from 1981 to 1993. In 2004 he received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the

University of Northern British Columbia The University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) is a university serving the northern region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The main campus is located in Prince George, with additional campuses located in Prince Rupert, Terrace, ...

Political career

John served as an elected Councillor of

Tl'azt'en Nation Tl'azt'en Nation is a First Nations band located along the north shore of Stuart Lake near the outlet of the Tache River, in the northern interior of British Columbia. The main village belonging to Tl'azt'en Nation is Tache (often spelled Tachie i ...

from 1974 to 1990 and as elected Chief from 1990 to 1992. From 1984 to 1988 he was Chief of the

Carrier-Sekani Tribal Council The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council (familiarly known as CSTC) is a tribal council representing six First Nations in the British Columbia Interior, Central Interior of British Columbia. It was originally known as the ''Lakes District Tribal Council'' ...

. From 1992 until 1999 he was Chief Treaty Negotiator for the Carrier-Sekani Tribal Council, a position he resumed in 2006. He is also chairman of the board of Tanizul Timber and Teeslee Forest Products, companies owned by Tl'azt'en Nation. For his service to Tl'azt'en Nation he was awarded the title of Grand Chief of Tl'azt'en Nation. A fluent speaker of Carrier and one of the few people considered eloquent public speakers in Carrier, John was the founding President of the

Yinka Dene Language Institute The Yinka Dene Language Institute (YDLI) is an organization based in Stoney Creek, British Columbia, whose purpose is the study and maintenance of the language and culture of Dakelh and other First Nations people in northern British Columbia. H ...

. He was also involved in establishing the

. He played a prominent role in the Interior University Society, the regional organization whose pressure led to the creation of UNBC, and subsequently served on the Implementation Council and the Interim Governing Council, the predecessor to the Board of Governors. John was the First Nations representative to the

First Ministers Conference In Canada, a First Ministers' conference (or First Ministers' meeting) is a meeting of the Provinces and territories of Canada, provincial and territorial premier (Canada), premiers and the Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister. These events ...

on aboriginal constitutional rights from 1983 to 1987. In 1991, along with the late Squamish Chief Joe Matthias, he helped to create the First Nations Summit, the organization representing the British Columbia First Nations involved in treaty negotiations with Canada and British Columbia. This group produced the tripartite Task Force Report that led to the current

British Columbia Treaty Process The British Columbia Treaty Process (BCTP) is a land claims negotiation process started in 1993 to resolve outstanding issues, including claims to un-extinguished indigenous rights, with British Columbia's First Nations. Three treaties have ...

. In June 2016 John was elected to his eleventh term on the Task Group (political executive) of the First Nations Summit, of which he has been a member almost continuously since 1993. His position on the Task Group ended in June 2019 when he chose not to run again. From June through mid-November 2019 he served as an adviser to the First Nations Summit. On November 1, 2000 he was appointed to the provincial cabinet as Minister for Children and Families, serving until the change of government in June 2001. In the election of May 16, 2001 he ran unsuccessfully as the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

candidate for

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

from the

Prince George-Omineca A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fema ...

riding. In 2015 he was appointed as a special advisor on Aboriginal Child Welfare by Liberal Premier Christy Clark. John also plays a prominent role at the national level in the

Assembly of First Nations The Assembly of First Nations (, AFN) is an assembly of Canadian First Nations ( Indian bands) represented by their chiefs. Established in 1982 and modelled on the United Nations General Assembly, it emerged from the National Indian Brotherhood ...

. In October 2005 he represented the AFN at the Second Indigenous Peoples' Summit of the Americas in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. In January 2011 he began a three-year term as the North American Representative to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues., of which he became Chair in May 2012. He was appointed to a second three-year term effective January 2014 and served until the end of his membership in the Forum in January 2017. On August 7, 2024 John was again elected Chief of Tl'azt'en Nation.

Honours

In 2012 John received an Indspire Award in the area of Politics. and an honorary Doctor of Laws from the

. In May 2018 he received the Alumni Award of Distinction from the Allard Law Alumni Association of the University of British Columbia School of Law.

Criminal charges

On November 14, 2019, John was charged with four counts of having sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent. The alleged criminal acts date to 1974 and involve the same woman, whose identity is protected by court order. The

Carrier Sekani Tribal Council The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council (familiarly known as CSTC) is a tribal council representing six First Nations in the Central Interior of British Columbia. It was originally known as the ''Lakes District Tribal Council''. The CSTC was incorporated ...

issued a statement indicating that as the matter is before the courts it would have no comment. On July 8, 2020 he entered a plea of not guilty. His trial began in provincial court in Prince George on July 25, 2022. On the second day of the trial, the complainant broke down under cross-examination by John's lawyer, who brought out inconsistencies in her testimony and produced a photograph showing that John had long hair at the time, contradicting her testimony that his hair was short. After an extended consultation with the complainant the Crown determined that the prospects for conviction were poor and entered a stay of proceedings, dropping the charges.

Electoral results

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20050403195626/http://www.fns.bc.ca/about/e_john.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20050213112021/http://bcands.bc.ca/patrons/john.html *https://www.ydli.org/cultinfo/bios.htm#edjohn *https://www.un.org/apps/news/newsmakers.asp?NewsID=66#.UFac0GaqoUM text of UN interview *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS3azPGdPgk video of interview with Rosalba Nattero {{DEFAULTSORT:John, Edward Living people 1949 births 20th-century First Nations people 21st-century First Nations people British Columbia New Democratic Party candidates in British Columbia provincial elections Dakelh people First Nations lawyers 21st-century Canadian lawyers First Nations politicians Indigenous leaders in British Columbia Indspire Awards Peter A. Allard School of Law alumni University of Victoria alumni University of British Columbia alumni First Nations Summit Task Group members