Elijah Harper

Biography of Elijah Harper Jordan MacIsaac Mr. DAlessio NDW 4U Elijah Harper was a great leader and brilliant man, you will learn that he is a revolutionary man as well. He was one of the first Aboriginal to become a high member of the government. However, all the hardships and trails he had to overcome, in the end he didnt really accomplish much. Harper, was born in 1949 in Red Sucker Lake, a reserve in northern Manitoba which he was later elected chief of, in 1978. He also attended residential schools all across Manitoba. Harper as done a lot in his life, for example he was appointed to cabinet as a Minister without Portfolio, responsible for Native Affairs, then he served in the Canadian House of Commons in Ottawa. However, he was probably most known for what he did as a member in the Manitoba Legislature. Harper blocked a Canadian constitutional amendment known as the Meech Lake Accord by not allowing the Manitoba Premier -Gary Filmon- to waive the two day waiting period formality. By doing this it would mean that the Manitoba Legislature would only have 9 days to come to a consensus as to weather they should block or support the contentious accord. He believed that with this controversial Accord it would push back the more important issues surrounding Natives and their rights. Later that year, he won the Stanley Knowles Humanitarian Award - the same presented to Nelson Mandela, among other awards he was given in that year. Elijah has accomplished much in his life time, even though he died in 2013 at age 64. In 1978 he was elected as the Chief for Red Sucker Lake which was a position he held for four years. Then, in 1981 Harper contested and won the sprawling northern Manitoba riding of Rupertsland for the NDP to become the first Treaty Indian to be elected as a provincial politician.