Secwépemc leader George Manuel honoured with a Canada Post stamp

An influential Secwépemc leader from the Neskonlith Indian Band is being honoured with a Canada Post stamp that was unveiled Monday in North Vancouver.  

George Manuel was chosen to be one of three people honoured this year in Canada Post's multi-year Indigenous Leaders series, which started last year to celebrate prominent Indigenous people on National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21.

But friends and family of the late Manuel say his impact on the rights of Indigenous people within Canada and globally has been under-celebrated. 

Doreen Manuel, Manuel's daughter, said it's "because of him and leaders like him, we still have Aboriginal title and rights."

Manuel served as chief of Neskonlith Indian Band, president of the North American Indian Brotherhood, president of the National Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of First Nations), president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) and in 1975 founded the World Council of Indigenous Peoples, which had observer status at the United Nations.

Manuel was a vocal opponent of the White Paper in 1969, a federal policy that proposed to abolish the Indian Act and was widely seen as furthering the goal of assimilating Indigenous people. 

While president of UBCIC, Manuel led people from Vancouver to Ottawa on a chartered train known as the Constitution Express to protesting the lack of Indigenous rights in the proposed Canadian Constitution. This movement resulted in Section 35 of the Constitution Act which affirmed Indigenous treaty rights. 

"If it wasn't for him fighting the White Paper policy and fighting for inclusion in the Constitution, our rights would be diminished by now," said Doreen Manuel. 

She remembers her father as humble and charismatic and the type of person who would remember the names and details of people who he met only once. 

"I think that sums him up as a leader, he just really cared about everybody," she said. 

Russ Diabo, a family friend and First Nations policy analyst, said he first met Manuel when Manuel received the Order of Canada in 1986, but knew of his work long before meeting him because of his work with the National Indian Brotherhood and friendship with his sons Robert and Arthur Manuel. 

"He had a big impact, which is still being felt," said Diabo. 

Manuel was a survivor of the Kamloops residential school, and wrote a book called The Fourth World: An Indian Reality published in 1974.

"I think he hasn't gotten the recognition that he should," said Diabo.

"'I'm glad to see that they're recognizing that, and they're going to celebrate his work by issuing a stamp."

Nellie Cournoyea, the first Indigenous woman to head a provincial or territorial government in Canada, and Thelma Chalifoux, the first Indigenous woman appointed to the Senate of Canada, are also being honoured with stamps this year.