Chief Wilton "Willie" Littlechild

Chief Littlechild

A strong advocate of indigenous rights within Canada, a pioneer of indigenous people in Canadian governance and a hero in Canadian sports, Chief Willie Littlechild is a leader and role model. Littlechild runs his own law firm in the Ermineskin Reserve

Littlechild is a residential school survivor, who went on to attend the University of Alberta, completeing a law degree in 1976 and he became the first Treaty First Nations person from Alberta to become a lawyer. He then became the first Treaty First Nations person to be elected a Canadian Member of Parlement, in 1988. He served as a member of parlement untill 1993.

His Accomplishments in sport

Littlechild plays hockey, baseball and swam competitivly. Littlechild has won over 70 provincial, regional, national and international championships. He has been recognized in eight sport halls of fame, including Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Notable examples of the many events and organizations he has helped establish at every level of competition include the creation of the North American Indigenous Games in 1990, as well as the World Indigenous Nations Games in 2015 in Brazil and 2017. He was a tourchbearer in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Littlechild encourages young people all the time to be balanced in their life: to be mentally, culturally, physically, and spiritually balanced.

His Advocacy

For over four decades, Littlechild has worked with the United Nations to advocate for indigenous sport, traditional games and global indigenous rights. He also served as a Commissioner for Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and was honored by the Chiefs of Treaty Nos. 6, 7 and 8 (Alberta) as International Chief. He served on several senior committees in the House of Commons and was a parliamentary delegate to the United Nations. He also served two terms as the North American representative to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

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