Siksika Nation mourns passing of former chief Roy Little Chief

By Janet Kanters, Editor

Roy Little Chief, a former chief of the Siksika First Nation and prominent voice for Indigenous rights, has died at the age of 81.

Little Chief was chief of Siksika Nation between 1981 and 1983. His grandfather, Eagle Rib, signed Treaty 7 in the late 19th century.

According to a news release from Siksika Nation, Little Chief’s advocacy for Indigenous rights and causes spans more than 50 years. In 2002, he received the Queens Golden Jubilee Medal for his efforts advancing the status of First Nations communities across the country. 

Little Chief was born Aug. 26, 1938, in the Blackfoot Hospital at Siksika Nation. He was educated in residential schools at Crowfoot-Blackfoot, Erminskin-Hobbema and St. Thomas College in North Battleford, Sask.

He spent time in the late 1960s working with the Indian Association of Alberta, striving to have a positive effect on the Indigenous community. He worked in opposition to the Federal Government White Paper in the early 1970s that called for the elimination of separate legal status for First Nations in Canada.

“He was a central figure in the awakening of First Nations political activity, Indigenous spirituality and cultural expression. He had success in organizing support for the inclusion of Aboriginal rights in the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution in the early 1980s,” stated the news release.

Little Chief served on various boards and committees in his many years of activism, including the National Residential School Survivors Society. It was, in part, due to his contributions that reparations for residential school survivors were introduced and Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established.

“Roy Little Chief was vocal in calling out the racial attitudes embodied in law enforcement protocols of the Calgary Police Service and the RCMP that resulted in the unfair imprisonment of Indigenous people,” stated the news release.

Little Chief continued to have an active leadership role later in life, becoming the chair of the Siksika police commission, among others.

He was also a founding member of the Blackfoot A1 Drum Group. The drum group won awards and performed at powwows and cultural events across Canada and the United States.

Little Chief passed away at Peter Lougheed Hospital in Calgary. He leaves behind his wife, Linda Little Chief, six children, numerous grandchildren and a great granddaughter. 

A memorial service was held at 1 p.m. on June 18 at the Gordon Yellow Fly Memorial Arbour on the Siksika Reserve.