Elijah Harper
Source: Wikipedia: Elijah Harper
Politics • Historical Archive • 🇨🇦 Canada • 1 views

Elijah Harper 🇨🇦

Elijah Harper (Known as "Elijah Harper")
Cree Leader, Manitoba MLA, Historic Resister of the Meech Lake Accord
Born Dec 23, 1949 🇨🇦 Red Sucker Lake First Nation (Manitoba), Canada
Passed Away May 17, 2013 Ottawa (Ontario), Canada
Lifespan 63 years old
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"I held the eagle feather for my people and for all Canadians, to remind the nation that we were here first and our rights cannot be traded away."

Archival Overview

Cree leader and Manitoba legislator who achieved historic national acclaim in 1990 by clutching a sacred eagle feather and refusing unanimous procedural consent, effectively sinking the Meech Lake Constitutional Accord.

Biographical Record

Raised on his family's traditional trapline at Red Sucker Lake and educated in residential schools, Harper was elected Chief of his community at age 29 before entering provincial politics as an NDP MLA in 1981, becoming Manitoba's first First Nations Cabinet minister.

In June 1990, holding an eagle feather bestowed by an elder, Harper stood alone in the Manitoba Legislature to say 'No' eight consecutive times to fast-tracking the Meech Lake Accord, protesting that Canada's foundational constitutional pact completely disregarded First Nations peoples. He later served as a federal Member of Parliament.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Red Sucker Lake Cemetery
Red Sucker Lake (Manitoba), Canada
GPS: 54.1667, -93.5500
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