Wilton Littlechild is from the Erminskin First Nation, part of the community of Maskwacîs (ᒪᐢᑲᐧᒌᐢ). He attended two residential schools as a child for a total of 14 years of his life from 1951 to 1964. His grandparents, Chief Dan Minde and Mary Jane Minde raised him to be proud of his culture and have a strong work ethic. He credits sports for giving him inspiration to persevere the hardships of residential school. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1967 from the University of Alberta. He returned to receive his Master’s degree in physical education in 1975. After breaking a leg in a skiing accident, he began to coach hockey forming the first all-Indigenous junior hockey team in Alberta. This lead to an invitation to an NHL management school where he decided a degree in law would be a path to a management role in hockey. He became the First treaty Indigenous lawyer from Alberta and the first Indigenous student to graduate from the law school at the University of Alberta. Chief Littlechild focused his studies on international law. He was honoured by ceremony by the Ermineskin First Nation where he received a headdress as an honourary Chief. He was bestowed the name of his grandfather Mahihgan Pimoteyw, Walking Wolf. In 1977 he set up his law practice on the Erminskin reserve.
Chief Littlechild became part of a generation of Indigenous international law scholars who struggled for the United Nations recognition of the rights of Indigenous peoples. He became a member of the 1977 Indigenous delegation to the United Nations (UN). He was a contributor to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. His international work includes the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, as well as representative of the International Organization of Indigenous Resource Development. He is a founding member of the Indigenous Initiative for Peace, the chairperson for the Denver Text of the OAS Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and a member and VP for the Indigenous Parliament of the Americas. He is currently a member of Expert Mechanism on the Right of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) and has served two years as Chairperson. Chief Littlechild also played an important role in the lawsuit to prevent the patriation of the Canadian Constitution until it contained provisions for Indigenous peoples.
In Canada Chief Littlechild is the first Treaty Indigenous member of Parliament. He served for five years, 1988-1993, as the representative for the seat of Wetaskiwin. In 2009 Chief Littlechild became a Commissioner for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and served on the commission until its conclusion in 2015.
He has won more than 70 provincial, regional, national and international championships and has been inducted into eight Sports Halls of Fame, including Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.Member of the Order of Canada, Meritorious Service Medal, Order of Sport and recently awarded United Nations Association of Canada’s Pearson Peace Medal He has received the Alberta Order of Excellence and the Indspire Award for Law and Justice. Dr. Littlechild is a former Commissioner with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. He represented North America for two three-year terms on the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. He also served from 2011 to 2017 as an Expert Member of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which provides advice to the UN Human Rights Council. He is a member of the Order of Canada, Meritorious Service Medal, Order of Sport and was recently awarded United Nations Association of Canada’s Pearson Peace Medal.
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