Howard Adams
Encyclopedia
Howard Adams was an influential twentieth century Metis
academic and activist. He was born in St. Louis, Saskatchewan
, Canada, on September 8, 1921, the son of a French Métis mother and an English Métis (Anglo-Metis
) father. In his youth he briefly joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
. Adams became the first Métis in Canada to gain his PhD after studies at the University of California, Berkeley
in 1966.
He returned to Canada and became a prominent Métis activist in Saskatchewan
, often creating controversy by propagating his Marxist and Métis Nationalist views in reference to contemporary and historical events. Adams was often critical not only of Canadian society but of Aboriginal leadership for what he saw as its co-option, and cultivation of dependency by receiving government funding.
Adams' intellectual influences include Malcolm X
whom he saw lecture at Berkeley, and the general radical environment of that institution during the 1960s. He was the maternal great grandson of Louis Riel
's lieutenant Maxime Lepine
who fought in the Northwest Rebellion of 1885.
Adams died in Vancouver, British Columbia on September 8, 2001, on his 80th birthday.
Major works include Prison of Grass: Canada from a Native Point of View (1975), The Education of Canadians 1800-1867: The Roots of Separatism (1968), and Tortured People: The Politics of Colonization (1999).
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
academic and activist. He was born in St. Louis, Saskatchewan
St. Louis, Saskatchewan
St. Louis is a Canadian village in the province of Saskatchewan, south of Prince Albert and northeast of Batoche. It was founded by Métis settlers in the late 19th century, and is the northernmost Southbranch Settlement, a series of communities which range from Fish Creek in the south along the...
, Canada, on September 8, 1921, the son of a French Métis mother and an English Métis (Anglo-Metis
Anglo-Métis
A 19th-century community of the Métis people of Canada, the Anglo-Métis, more commonly known as Countryborn, were children of fur traders; they typically had Orcadian, Scottish, or English fathers and Aboriginal mothers. Their first languages were generally those of their mothers: Cree, Saulteaux,...
) father. In his youth he briefly joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
. Adams became the first Métis in Canada to gain his PhD after studies at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1966.
He returned to Canada and became a prominent Métis activist in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, often creating controversy by propagating his Marxist and Métis Nationalist views in reference to contemporary and historical events. Adams was often critical not only of Canadian society but of Aboriginal leadership for what he saw as its co-option, and cultivation of dependency by receiving government funding.
Adams' intellectual influences include Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
whom he saw lecture at Berkeley, and the general radical environment of that institution during the 1960s. He was the maternal great grandson of Louis Riel
Louis Riel
Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....
's lieutenant Maxime Lepine
Maxime Lépine
Maxime Lépine was a Canadian businessman and political figure of Métis origin. He represented St. Francois Xavier East in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1874 to 1878....
who fought in the Northwest Rebellion of 1885.
Adams died in Vancouver, British Columbia on September 8, 2001, on his 80th birthday.
Major works include Prison of Grass: Canada from a Native Point of View (1975), The Education of Canadians 1800-1867: The Roots of Separatism (1968), and Tortured People: The Politics of Colonization (1999).
Honors
- National Aboriginal Achievement AwardNational Aboriginal Achievement AwardsThe National Aboriginal Achievement Awards are annual awards presented by the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation in Canada. The awards are intended to celebrate and encourage excellence in the Aboriginal community.-About:...
for education, 1999.