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Canada Post has unveiled a new commemorative postage stamp that honours the legacy of B.C. Indigenous leader George Manuel.
The unveiling of the new stamp took place at a ceremony Monday at the Tsleil-Waututh Culture Centre in North Vancouver, attended by many of Manuel’s family members, Indigenous leaders and friends among the Tsleil-Waututh Nation.
Manuel was a member of the Secwepemc Nation in B.C.’s Interior, who championed Indigenous rights over a four-decade political career, including fighting for the recognition of Indigenous rights and title from the 1950s to the 1980s.
In the 1970s, he became chief of what is now the Assembly of First Nations and served as president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs.
In 1980, Manuel organized the Constitutional Express, a movement that brought Indigenous people by train to Ottawa, and to the United Nations headquarters in New York to lobby for inclusion of Indigenous rights in the Canadian Constitution.
Manuel also worked advocated for the rights of Indigenous people around the world and was nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize. He died in 1989.
National Chief RoseAnne Archibald of the Assembly of First Nations said Monday while she never met Manuel in person she’s keenly aware of the mark he left in promoting Indigenous rights and title that still resonates today. “He did so much heartfelt and heavy work for us,” she said.
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip recalled how George had the ability to face down opposition and to inspire others to join his cause. “He inspired all of us to stand up and speak up,” said Phillip. “That’s the hallmark of a great leader. Did I make a difference? George Manual made a difference.”
Although he was from the Interior, Manuel and his family had a close bond with North Vancouver’s Tsleil-Waututh Nation through the late Chief Dan George, also an early advocate of Indigenous rights. Tsleil-Waututh Elder Amy George spoke about how the two families grew close during those years. One of the last times she saw Manuel, he was in a wheelchair, she said, but still advocating the need to show up for worthwhile causes. “’Bring yourself there,’ she said he told her. “’Stand up for what you believe in.’”
Doreen Manuel, one of Manuel’s daughters and spokesperson for the family, said Monday her father’s work on Indigenous rights was the foundation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. “That’s his legacy,” she said.
“He had a belief that we need to look to the future, every single decision we make. We need to consider the future generations. They’re going to have aboriginal title and rights, that they’re going to have clean water, that we made this world a better place than we came into it, that we work hard to create a better existence for our people. And I’ve seen that happen in my lifetime.”
Two other stamps honouring Indigenous leaders are also being released by Canada Post, one honouring Nellie Cournoyea, who served as premier of the Northwest Territories, and another honouring Thelma Chalifoux, a former Canadian senator and Metis activist.
The stamps will be issued June 21.
