The Canadian Crown and Aboriginal Peoples - Viceroys and Aboriginals

Viceroys and Aboriginals

It seems history has come full circle. More than 200 years ago, the Anishinabe people welcomed the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, Sir John Graves Simcoe, to their territory. And now I, their descendant, am being welcomed by you as the Sovereign's representative...

James K. Bartleman, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, 2001

As the representatives in Canada and the provinces of the reigning monarch, both governors general and lieutenant governors have been closely associated with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. This dates back to the colonial era, when the sovereign did not travel from Europe to Canada, and so dealt with aboriginal societies through his viceroy. After the American Revolution, a tradition was initiated in eastern Canada of appealing to the viceregal representatives for redress of grievances, and later, after returning from a cross-country tour in 1901, during which he met with First Nations in the Yukon, Governor General The Earl of Minto urged his ministers to redress the wrongs he had witnessed in the north and to preserve native heritage and folklore.

Federal and provincial viceroys also met with First Nations leaders for more ceremonial occasions, such as when in 1867 Canada's first Governor General, The Viscount Monk, met with a native chief, in full feathers, amongst some of the first guests at Rideau Hall. The Marguess of Lansdowne smoked a calumet with aboriginal people in the Prairies, The Marquess of Lorne was there named Great Brother-in-Law, and The Lord Tweedsmuir was honoured by the Kainai Nation through being made a chief of the Blood Indians and met with Grey Owl in Saskatchewan. The Earl Alexander of Tunis was presented with a totem pole by Kwakiutl carver Mungo Martin, which Alexander erected on the grounds of Rideau Hall, where it stands today with the inukshuk by artist Kananginak Pootoogook that was commissioned in 1997 by Governor General Roméo LeBlanc to commemorate the second National Aboriginal Day. Governor General The Viscount Byng of Vimy undertook a far-reaching tour of the north in 1925, during which the he met with First Nations and heard their grievances at Fort Providence and Fort Simpson. Later, Governor General Edward Schreyer was in 1984 made an honorary member of the Kainai Chieftainship, as was one his viceregal successors, Adrienne Clarkson, who was made such on 23 July 2005, along with being adopted into the Blood Tribe with the name Grandmother of Many Nations. Clarkson was an avid supporter of Canada's north and Inuit culture, employing students from Nunavut Arctic College to assist in designing the Clarkson Cup and creating the Governor General's Northern Medal.

Five persons from First Nations have been appointed as the monarch's representative, all in the provincial spheres. Ralph Steinhauer was the first, having been made Lieutenant Governor of Alberta on 2 July 1974; Steinhauer was from the Cree nation. W. Yvon Dumont was of Métis heritage and served as Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba between 1993 and 1999. The first Lieutenant Governor of Ontario of aboriginal heritage was James Bartleman, who was appointed to the position on 7 March 2002. A member of the Mnjikaning First Nation, Bartlemen listed the encouragement of indigenous young people as one of his key priorities, and, during his time in the Queen's service, launched several initiatives to promote literacy and social bridge building, travelling to remote native communities in northern Ontario, pairing native and non-native schools, and creating the Lieutenant Governor's Book Program, which collected 1.4 million books that were flown into the province's north to stock shelves of First Nations community libraries. On 1 October 2007, Steven Point, from the Skowkale First Nation, was installed as Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, and Graydon Nicholas, born on the Tobique Indian Reserve, was made Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick on 30 September 2009.