Murray Sinclair, born at a time when Indigenous people did not yet have the right to vote, grew up to become one of the most decorated and influential people working in justice and advocacy indigenous.

A former judge and senator, one of Sinclair’s most important roles was as chair of the Residential School Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

He died Monday morning in a Winnipeg hospital, said his son Niigaan Sinclair. He was 73 years old.

Sinclair was a father of five and a grandfather.

His traditional Anishinaabe name was Mizhana Gheezhik or He Who Speaks of Images in the Sky.

Born in 1951, Sinclair grew up on the former St. Peter’s Indian Reserve, north of Winnipeg. He was a member of the Peguis First Nation.

He was raised by his grandparents and graduated from high school in Selkirk, Manitoba, where he excelled in athletics.

Some of his earliest childhood memories were published earlier this year in his memoir, “Who We Are: Four Questions for a Life and a Nation.”

In it, Sinclair describes the discrimination he faced as an Anishinaabe in a non-Native school.

“Even though I and others have successfully implemented this system, it has not been without cost to our own humanity and self-esteem. This is the legacy we all find ourselves in today.

Sinclair later worked as an aide to MP Howard Pawley, before Pawley became Prime Minister.

In 1979, Sinclair received his law degree from the University of Manitoba.

In 11 years, he became Manitoba’s first Indigenous judge — the second in Canada — when he was appointed associate chief judge of the provincial court. In 2001 it became the Court of Queen’s Bench.

In all, he spent 28 years as a judge.

He was co-chair of the Manitoba Aboriginal Justice Inquiry to examine whether the justice system had failed Aboriginal people following the murder of Helen Betty Osborne and the police shooting of JJ Harper.

He also led the complex pediatric cardiac surgery investigation into the deaths of 12 children at the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre.

While leading the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he participated in hundreds of hearings across Canada and heard testimony from thousands of residential school survivors.

The commissioners released their highly influential final report in 2015, which called what happened at the institutions cultural genocide and included 94 calls for action.

“Education is the key to reconciliation,” Sinclair said. “Education got us into this mess and education will get us out of it. »

Two years later, he and the other commissioners received the Meritorious Service Cross for their work.

It was one of many recognitions Sinclair received during his career.

He received a National Aboriginal Achievement Award, now the Indspire Awards, in the field of justice in 1994. In 2017, he received a lifetime achievement award from the organization.

He also received the Manitoba Bar Association Equality Award in 2001 and the Canadian Bar Association President’s Medal in 2018.

In 2016, Sinclair was appointed to the Senate. He retired from this position in 2021.

The following year, he received the Order of Canada for devoting his life to defending the rights and freedoms of indigenous peoples.

In accepting the honor, Sinclair said he wanted to show the country that working on Indigenous issues requires a national effort.

“When I talk to young people, I always tell them that we all have a responsibility to do our best and be the best we can be,” he said.

Sinclair has limited his public engagements in recent years due to his declining health.

In his memoir, Sinclair describes living with congestive heart failure. Nerve damage caused him to use a wheelchair.

His family recently released a statement saying he had been hospitalized for a few months.

Sinclair spoke at the 2023 swearing-in ceremony of Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, the first First Nations person to lead a province. Sinclair called the step “a true act of Manitoba reconciliation” that would pave the way for a “new phase.”

“This phase will ultimately lead to a relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in which we are able to show true respect to all who are here and all who come here.”

Sinclair’s memoir was published in September. In it, he continues to challenge Canadians to act.

“We know that things will not improve overnight. It will take generations. This is how the damage was created and this is how the damage will be repaired,” Sinclair wrote.

“But if we agree on the goal of reconciliation and agree to work together, the work we do today will significantly strengthen the social fabric of Canada tomorrow.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published November 4, 2024.