Frank Arthur Calder, OC OBC (August 3, 1915 – November 4, 2006) was a Nisga'a politician in Canada.
Frank Arthur Calder | |
---|---|
![]() 2004 Order of British Columbia | |
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Atlin | |
In office June 15, 1949 – September 19, 1956 | |
Preceded by | William Duncan Smith |
Succeeded by | William James Asselstine |
In office September 12, 1960 – May 10, 1979 | |
Preceded by | William James Asselstine |
Succeeded by | Al Passarell |
Personal details | |
Born | Nass Harbour, British Columbia | August 3, 1915
Died | November 4, 2006 Victoria, British Columbia | (aged 91)
Political party | Social Credit (1974-1979) New Democrat (1949-1974) |
Spouse | Tamaki Koshibe |
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2008) |
Born in Nass Harbour, British Columbia, Calder was the first indigenous person to graduate from the Anglican Theological College of the University of British Columbia. Calder was a hereditary chief of the House of Wisinxbiltkw from the Killerwhale Tribe. He died November 4, 2006, at an assisted-living home in Victoria from the effects of cancer and recent abdominal surgery.
Political career
editIn the 1949 British Columbia election, Calder was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. He was elected in the riding of Atlin where he continued to serve until 1956 and then again between 1960 and 1979. Calder represented BC's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (which later became the New Democratic Party of British Columbia).
Calder was appointed a cabinet member in Dave Barrett's government in 1972 and became BC's first aboriginal cabinet minister. In 1973, police found him in a consensual situation involving a female companion, alcohol and a car parked in an intersection. He was arrested but not charged and was fired from cabinet.[1] In 1974 he was defeated by Joseph Gosnell in his bid to be re-elected as president of the Nisga'a Tribal Council.[1]
In 1975, Calder crossed the floor to join the Social Credit Party of British Columbia and was re-elected. In 1979, however, Calder lost his seat to the NDP candidate, Al Passarell, by a single vote. Calder and his wife had both neglected to vote.[2]
Fighting for treaty rights
editCalder is famous for the court case titled "Calder vs. Attorney General of British Columbia", which was argued by Thomas Berger. By appealing the case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, Calder established that Aboriginal title exists in modern Canadian law. This decision had national and international reverberations. In addition, it was the basis of BC's Nisga'a treaty.
Before the Calder Case, there was no clear process for negotiating Canadian land claim settlements. Calder clarified which lands were negotiable (40% of Canada's land mass) and which were not. After the case, Canada developed a land claim policy to guide negotiations. He continued to fight for Nisga'a's treaty rights as recently as 2000.[3]
Calder founded the Nisga'a Tribal Council, the first tribal council established in BC. Calder was its president for 21 years until 1974.
Honours
edit- 1987 - Made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
- Awarded the Aboriginal Order of Canada.
- 1996 - National Aboriginal Achievement Award [1]
- 2004 - Awarded the Order of British Columbia.
References
edit- ^ a b Sandra Martin, "Obituary: FRANK CALDER, POLITICIAN AND NISGA'A CHIEF: 1915-2006; The ‘dream child' started a native land-claims case that would reverberate across Canada and around the world", Globe and Mail, November 9, 2006
- ^ Palmer, Vaughn (May 9, 2017). "Elections decided by people who show up to vote". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
- ^ "First Nations Symposium on Good Governance Gala Dinner". Archived from the original on 2006-12-20. Retrieved 2006-07-03.
External links
edit- In memory of Dr. Frank Calder, Chief of Chiefs
- Eulogy from the Diocese of New Westminster web pages
- Introduction by Frank Calder to Nisga'a: People Of The Nass River Archived 2007-02-19 at the Wayback Machine
- Calder's Order of British Columbia biography
- Calder in the Canadian Encyclopedia
- "History of Land Claims in British Columbia (PDF)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-08-09. (142 KiB)
- Provincial Hansard during debate on circumstances of Calder's firing