- Georges Erasmus
Georges Henry Erasmus, OC (born
August 8 ,1948 , inRae Edzo, Northwest Territories ) is a Canadian Aboriginal politician. He was the national chief of theAssembly of First Nations from 1985 to 1991.Erasmus was born in a
Dene community of the Northwest Territories to a family of 12 children. He attended high school in Yellowknife. In 1967, he was a volunteer with theCompany of Young Canadians .He became president of the
Dene Nation in 1974 and while president fought against the proposedMackenzie Valley Pipeline .He was the federal
New Democratic Party candidate in 1979 forWestern Arctic riding.Erasmus was national chief of the Assembly of First Nations during the
Oka Crisis . After serving two terms as national chief he co-chaired theRoyal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples .Erasmus has been honoured for his work many times. He was appointed to the
Order of Canada as a member in 1987, and was promoted to officer in 1999. He has also been awarded honorary doctorates by seven Canadian universities, including theUniversity of Toronto ,Queen's University , and theUniversity of Manitoba .He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Western Ontario in June 2006
External links
* [http://www.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=499 Order of Canada Citation]
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-74-516/people/erasmus/ CBC Digital Archives: Georges Erasmus: Native Rights Crusader]
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