Frank Arthur Calder

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This article is about the Canadian politician. For the NHL executive, see also Frank Calder

Frank Arthur Calder, OC , OBC , L.Th , DD (August 3, 1915-November 4, 2006) was a Nisga'a politician in Canada, the first Status Indian to be elected to any Parliament of Canada.

Born in Nass Harbour, British Columbia, Calder was the first Indian to graduate from the Anglican Theological College of the University of British Columbia. He died November 4th, 2006 at an assisted-living home in Victoria from the effects of cancer and recent abdominal surgery.

1 Political career
2 Fighting for treaty rights
3 Honours
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Political career

In the 1949 British Columbia election, Calder was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. He was elected in the riding of Atlin where he continued to serve until 1979. Calder represented BC's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (which later became the New Democratic Party of British Columbia).

In 1972 Calder was appointed cabinet member in Dave Barrett's government and became BC's first aboriginal cabinet minister. He was fired after a controversy in 1973. Barrett says (for example on the Voice of BC television show) that the firing was in response to a "sad personal matter". Hansard records from the time indicate that the reason for the firing was not officially disclosed though there were rumours in the media.

In 1975, Calder crossed the floor to join the Social Credit Party of British Columbia.

In 1979, Calder lost his seat to the NDP candidate by a single vote. Legend has it that he and his wife did not wish to travel back to the riding and therefore did not vote. Their votes would have made the difference and won Calder's riding.

[edit] Fighting for treaty rights

Calder is famous for the court case titled "Calder vs. Attorney General of British Columbia." By appealing the case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, Calder established that Aboriginal title exists in modern Canadian law. This decision had national and international reverberations. In addition, it was the basis of BC's Nisga'a treaty.

Before the Calder Case, there was no clear process for negotiating Canadian land claim settlements. Calder clarified which lands were negotiable (40% of Canada's land mass!) and which were not. After the case, Canada developed a land claim policy to guide negotiations.

Calder continued to fight for Nisga'a treat rights as recently as 2000. [1]

Calder founded the Nisga'a Tribal Council, the first tribal council established in B.C. Calder was its president for 20 years.

Calder was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1988 and a Member of the Order of British Columbia in 2004.