Beloved 'mooshum' and fighter for justice: Marie Wilson reflects on her friend Murray Sinclair's life

Marie Wilson remembers Murray Sinclair as a man who fought to bring Indigenous ways of knowing into Canada's justice system and who loved his family. 

Wilson served alongside Sinclair as one of three commissioners on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, from 2009 to 2015.  

Sinclair, a lawyer and senator who led the TRC, died on Monday at the age of 73. 

"He had an imposing presence, that magnificent, beautiful voice and he had a heart that was as big as the man himself," Wilson said. 

She first met Sinclair in Yellowknife where he was speaking after the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry, long before the two became commissioners. She recalled how Sinclair noticed a man listening and watching throughout his speech. He went up to the man and asked him what was the most significant thing he'd heard while sitting in the audience. 

"The man looked at him and said, 'It was watching and listening to all those people walk up to that microphone, look at you, and refer to you as 'your honour,''" she said. 

"He was a very kind person, and he had a great sense of humour and a great sense of fun and pleasing about him."

Wilson said Sinclair was mentally sharp and "focused on the right thing to do."

"He was always seeking to fill that gap between the law and perceived justice."

She still remembers being told she had been selected as commissioner for the TRC, and then finding out Sinclair would be leading the commission.  

"To learn that I was going to be working with Murray … It just felt like a dream team. It was one of those pinch-me moments."

She said he was also a great teacher, who spoke at law schools and judicial councils. 

"I think for sure … he wanted to see proper recognition of Indigenous ways of knowing, of governing, of justice," she said. "He wanted to see respect given."

'He adored his grandchild'

Apart from teaching in law schools and presenting to adult audiences across the country, Sinclair also loved mentoring younger children, Wilson said. 

"He was equally determined to support younger ones — I think partly remembering how hard he had to work to reclaim things that had been lost in his own life," she said. 

"He adored his grandchild ... it was really for the children that we were doing the work.

"Of all his many roles and honourifics, probably his most important, precious one was as mooshum," she said, referring to the Cree word for grandfather. 

The Trailbreaker14:54Marie Wilson reflects on the life and legacy Murray Sinclair.

Murray Sinclair was the first Indigenous judge in Manitoba. He passed away Monday morning. Marie Wilson served as a commissioner alongside Sinclair as part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. She joined Hilary Bird.