MÉTIS LEADER JIM SINCLAIR DIED
Born on June 3, 1933, in Punnichy, Saskatchewan, Jim joined the Métis Society of Saskatchewan as a field worker in 1964. In 1967, he was elected to the board and, from 1971-89, he served as President focusing on housing, racism, land rights, hunting, fishing, trapping rights, and education. Jim helped establish both a network of alcohol treatment centers and the Native Council of Canada, which included Métis and Non-Status Indians. Sinclair led the lobbying effort for inclusion of Métis in Canada’s Constitution and met with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Queen of England, and Pope John Paul II. Visiting the Northwest Territories, the Pope openly supported Canada’s Aboriginal treaty rights. From 1994-96, Sinclair led the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) becoming CAP Saskatchewan President from 1996 until his death. Sinclair received the Order of the Métis Nation in 2004 for lifetime service and, on October 25, 2012, was honored at the Saskatchewan Indian Nation Assembly.
Source: “In Memory of Jim Sinclair – A Fierce Métis Rights Advocate,” Métis Nation, December 2012. Retrieved 7/18/2019, http://www.metisnation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Newsletter-December-2012-final.pdf
Photo: Padraic Ryan, 11/11/2007. Aboriginal War Veterans Monument, Ottawa, Canada. Permissive use pursuant to the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en