Recognizing passing of influential Indigenous leader Justice Murray Sinclair

It is with great sadness that Yukon University recognizes the passing of Justice Murray Sinclair.

 

Justice Sinclair was an influential Anishinaabe lawyer and Indigenous advocate who chaired the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. He was the first Indigenous judge in Manitoba and the second in Canada overall.

 

He spent his life and career championing for Indigenous rights as a judge and senator and helped bring national awareness around the legacy of Canada’s residential school system on Indigenous communities. He received numerous honorary degrees from universities across the country and was outspoken about how “education is the key to reconciliation.”

 

Justice Sinclair received many awards for his advocacy work including the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, Indspire’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Manitoba Bar Association’s Equality Award, as well as receiving the Order of Canada in 2022.

 

He used his influence to advance the rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities and we mourn the loss of his guiding light, however, his legacy lives on.

 

The flags have been lowered to half-mast in honour of his memory.