Chief of Chiefs of the Nisga'a Nation passes away at 91.

The Victoria Times Colonist has reported on the passing of Frank Calder, a pioneer of First Nations land claims, a cabinet minister and a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of B.C. He bears the title Chief Lisims "Chief of Chiefs" of the Nisga'a Nation.

They provide a well documented and rich testimonial to his life and achievements, with their obituary published in Sunday's paper.

Chief of Chiefs 'a wonderful guy'

Cindy E. Harnett, Jim Hume and Judith Lavoie
Times Colonist
Sunday, November 05, 2006

The Chief of Chiefs of the Nisga'a Nation and the first aboriginal cabinet minister in B.C. died Saturday at age 91 in an assisted-living home in Victoria.

Frank Calder was born Aug. 3, 1915, in the Indian shack-settlement at Nass Harbour Cannery.

Adopted by Nisga'a Chief Naqua- oon and Louisa [their English names are Arthur and Louisa Calder], he was still a baby when his father presented him to a gathering of elders meeting to discuss already historic Nisga'a land claims.

Pessimistically, some chiefs called the claims "the immovable mountain." But not Chief Na-qua-oon. He held infant Frank above his head and proclaimed: "This boy is going to learn the language and the laws of the K'umsiiwa [the white people].

And when he comes home he's going to move the mountain." Prophetic words. Frank Calder went on to become a pioneer of First Nations land claims, a cabinet minister and a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of B.C. He bears the title Chief Lisims "Chief of Chiefs" of the Nisga'a Nation.

In September, his life story was presented in the pages of the Times Colonist in a feature profile.


At the age of seven, Calder was sent south to the Anglican Church's Coqualeetza residential school at Sardis.

He graduated from Coqualeetza, became the first Indian to study at Chilliwack High School, then emerged from the University of B.C. with a degree in theology and a burning desire to fight for ancestral Nisga'a rights.

He ran successfully as a CCF candidate in the Atlin riding in 1949. He remained in the white man's "meeting house" for the next 30 years fighting for his people.

In February 1950, he delivered his maiden speech to the B.C. legislature.

He ended the day with a motion calling for the establishment of a B.C. Bill of Rights. It was the opening salvo of his Nisga'a land claims campaign, a campaign that took another 50 years to finish.

In 1955, the Nisga'a Land Committee, formed in 1909 but long moribund, was re-established, renamed the Nisga'a Tribal Council. It elected Frank Calder president.

In 1968, backed by the council, Calder sued the government and forced the land-claims debate into the courts and public spotlight. Seven Supreme Court judges agreed natives had once held title to the land in question but were divided on whether title still existed. Three said yes, three said no -- it was lost on a technicality.

But the Calder case had begun to move the "immovable mountain." In 1972, Dave Barrett's NDP defeated W.A.C. Bennett's Social Credit party and Frank Calder became the first native to achieve cabinet status.

And a year later he earned the dubious distinction of being the first aboriginal to be fired. His dismissal followed an incident involving overindulgence in a public place and Barrett said at the time that Calder was "being less than truthful" when asked about it.

The scandal embarrassed the Nisga'a.

At the tribal council's annual convention in 1974 James Gosnell, a longtime supporter of Calder, was elected president.

In 1975, Calder left the NDP to join Bill Bennett's surging Social Credit party. In the December vote that year, he retained Atlin for the Socreds but in May 1979, he lost the seat.

It was not until April 13, 2000, that the Nisga'a Treaty was proclaimed law and the mountain was finally removed.

While Frank Calder proclaimed the Nisga'a would live in the Nass River Valley of northwestern British Columbia "for ever," it's not necessarily where he wanted to die.

Thirty years ago he purchased a plot in Ross Bay Cemetery with enough room for his wife Tamaki and son Erick, 24.

"That's where I want to be when K'amligihahlhaahl -- the Chief of Heavens decides it's time," he said in an interview.

"I want people to pass by and look at my memorial and ask, 'Who's that, what did he do?' and someone will tell them about Nisga'a Lisims Government and how it came to be." Calder's lawyer and friend Ian Izard, law clerk for the B.C. legislative assembly, said Calder's sense of humour and clarity of mind remained until he died.

"He was a wonderful guy. Very cheerful and very pleasant and he worked hard," Izard said.
"He was always wonderfully inspirational. He always truly believed the Nisga'a would win out in the end." A memorial service for Calder will be held at Christ Church Cathedral.

The date has not yet been set.

Obituary of Frank Calder
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2006