Malcolm Norris was an influential Canadian Métis

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...

 leader of the twentieth century and celebrated Aboriginal activist. A Marxist, Socialist, and Métis nationalist he served for a time with 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,...

, and as an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

. During his on the job travels he developed his political views in response to the disorganization and poverty he saw in Métis and First Nations

First Nations

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

 communities throughout northern Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 and 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....

.

Norris, alongside his friend James P. Brady

James P. Brady

James Patrick Brady, better known as Jim Brady , was a Canadian Métis political leader and activist in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Along with Malcolm Norris he is generally regarded as one of the two most influential Métis leaders of his era...

, was one of the founding members of the Métis Association of Alberta

Métis Nation of Alberta

The Métis Nation of Alberta was formed in 1932 as the Métis Association of Alberta. Its primary goal was to be a political body to lobby the government on behalf of the Métis people. Its primary founding members were Felice Callihoo, Joseph Dion, James P. Brady, Malcolm Norris, Peter Tompkins. ...

. In the Second World War he served in the Royal Canadian Airforce returning to settle in northern Saskatchewan. Malcolm worked with and for the new Co-operative Commonwealth Federation

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation

The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...

 government in Saskatchewan for many years. Despite his hopes for the social democratic government in Saskatchewan, Norris sought self-government and fiscal self-sufficiency for his people organizing the Métis Association of Saskatchewan

Métis Nation - Saskatchewan

The Métis Nation—Saskatchewan is an organization that represents the approximately 80,000 Métis people in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is affiliated with the Métis National Council....

. He was sacked from his job in Prince Albert

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated in the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because it is the last major centre along the route to the resources of northern Saskatchewan...

 when the Saskatchewan Liberal Party

Saskatchewan Liberal Party

The Saskatchewan Liberal Party is a liberal political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.-Early history :The party dominated Saskatchewan politics for the province's first forty years providing six of the first seven Premiers, and being in power for all but five of the years between the...

 returned to power in 1964. Following this he served as President of the Métis Association of Saskatchewan and advised First Nations

First Nations

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

Chiefs and bands on political organization.

In 1967 he moved back to Alberta and died from a stroke.

External links

• http://www.sicc.sk.ca/faces/mnorrma.htm Aboriginal Faces of Saskatchewan Biography of Malcolm Norris
• http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/norris_malcolm_1900-67.html Encyclopaedia of Saskatchewan entry on Malcolm Norris