Cree Literacy Network

Thanks to Craig Baird of Canadian History Ehx for permission to share his post about Cree visionary Harold Cardinal, posted yesterday on FaceBook. It’s important to remember that Cree Literacy isn’t just about language and reading. Culture and history are big parts of the picture. And Harold Cardinal’s voice and ideas – from a very young age in the mid-1960s – continue to resonate with power and inspiration. Here’s what Craig wrote: 

When the federal government released its 1969 White Paper that sought to end treaty rights and Indian Status, Harold Cardinal responded with his landmark book The Unjust Society. It helped spark a new Indigenous rights movement in Canada. This is his story.

Born in High Prairie, Alberta, he attended high school in Edmonton and then studied sociology at St. Patrick’s College. In 1966, he was elected president of the Canadian Indian Youth Council. Two years later, he was elected leader of the Indian Association of Alberta.

In 1969, the federal government under Pierre Trudeau introduced the White Paper. This advocated for the elimination of separate legal status for First Nations in Canada. Many saw it as an assimilation program that would have repealed the Indian Act. In protest, Cardinal wrote The Unjust Society. It was his intent to “sweep back the buckskin curtain” between the First Nations and mainstream society. His book, which was a response to The White Paper, was a best-seller and led to the abandoning of the policy.

After this, Cardinal continued to write books on First Nations issues including Citizens Plus (also known as The Red Paper) and The Rebirth of Canada’s Indians. His books galvanized the First Nations and helped begin a resurgence in activism. Cardinal promoted the need for mutual recognition, understanding and respect between the First Nations and the rest of Canada. He was one of the first Indigenous scholars to advance the belief that First Nations could hold onto traditions while engaging in modernity.

In 1984, Cardinal was appointed by the chiefs of Treaty 8 to negotiate an agreement to rework the treaty. After this failed, Cardinal spent several years in personal reflection and studying with elders. He also contributed to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

In his 40s, Cardinal studied law at the University of Saskatchewan. On Nov. 4, 2004, two months before his 60th birthday, he was admitted to the Bar of Alberta. Sadly, Cardinal died only a few months later of lung cancer on June 3, 2005.

In his life, Cardinal received two honorary degrees. In 2001, he was awarded the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, now known as the Indspire Awards, for lifetime achievement.

Learn more about Cardinal in the Canada Ehx deep dive.

*sources*
Canadian Encyclopedia: https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/…/harold-cardinal
Indspire: https://indspire.ca/laureate/harold-cardinal-2/