Thomas King
Encyclopedia
Thomas King, CM
(born 24 April 1943) is a noted novelist and broadcaster
who most often writes about North America's First Nations
. He is an advocate for First Nations causes. He is of Cherokee
and Greek
descent. In 2003, King was invited to give the Massey Lecture, the first person of aboriginal descent to be chosen.
, California
, King is of Cherokee
, Greek
and German
-American descent. As an adult, he migrated to Australia
, where he worked for years as a photojournalist.
After moving to Canada in 1980, King taught Native Studies at the University of Lethbridge
in the early 1980s. King also served as a faculty member of the University of Minnesota
's American Indian Studies Department. King is currently an English
professor at the University of Guelph
and lives in Guelph
, Ontario
. He is also the creator of The Dead Dog Cafe Comedy Hour
, a CBC Radio One
series.
King was chosen to deliver the 2003 Massey Lectures
, entitled The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. King was the first Aboriginal
Massey lecturer. In the series, King examined the Native
experience in oral stories, literature, history, religion and politics, popular culture and social protest in order to make sense of North America
’s relationship with its Aboriginal peoples.
In April 2007 King announced that he would be seeking the New Democratic Party
(NDP) nomination for Guelph
in the next federal election. On March 30, 2007 King was acclaimed as the NDP candidate for Guelph. Present at the nomination meeting was NDP leader Jack Layton
. A by-election was called in the riding
due to the resignation of incumbent Liberal
Member of Parliament
Brenda Chamberlain
effective April 7 2008. Scheduled for September 8, 2008, the by-election was cancelled with the calling of the October 14, 2008 federal general election
. King finished fourth behind Liberal
candidate Frank Valeriote
, Conservative
candidate Gloria Kovach
and Green
candidate Mike Nagy.
In July 2007, King made his directorial debut with I'm Not The Indian You Had In Mind, a short film for which he was also the screenwriter.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(born 24 April 1943) is a noted novelist and broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
who most often writes about North America's 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...
. He is an advocate for First Nations causes. He is of Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
and Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
descent. In 2003, King was invited to give the Massey Lecture, the first person of aboriginal descent to be chosen.
Life and career
Born in SacramentoSacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, King is of Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
, Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
-American descent. As an adult, he migrated to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where he worked for years as a photojournalist.
After moving to Canada in 1980, King taught Native Studies at the University of Lethbridge
University of Lethbridge
The University of Lethbridge is a publicly-funded comprehensive academic and research university, founded in the liberal education tradition, located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with two other urban campuses in Calgary and Edmonton. The main building sits among the coulees on the west side of...
in the early 1980s. King also served as a faculty member of the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
's American Indian Studies Department. King is currently an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
professor at the University of Guelph
University of Guelph
The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
and lives in Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. He is also the creator of The Dead Dog Cafe Comedy Hour
The Dead Dog Cafe Comedy Hour
The Dead Dog Café Comedy Hour was a radio comedy show on CBC Radio One for four seasons, running from 1997 to 2000.The show was set in a fictional café of the same name, in the equally fictional town of Blossom, Alberta. Both Blossom and the café were originally described in Tom King's...
, a CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
series.
King was chosen to deliver the 2003 Massey Lectures
Massey Lectures
The Massey Lectures are an annual week-long series of lectures on a political, cultural or philosophical topic given in Canada by a noted scholar. They were created in 1961 to honour Vincent Massey, Governor General of Canada...
, entitled The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. King was the first Aboriginal
Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
Massey lecturer. In the series, King examined the Native
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
experience in oral stories, literature, history, religion and politics, popular culture and social protest in order to make sense of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
’s relationship with its Aboriginal peoples.
In April 2007 King announced that he would be seeking the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
(NDP) nomination for Guelph
Guelph (electoral district)
Guelph is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1979 to 1988 and has been since 2004.The riding's parliamentary seat is held by Liberal MP Frank Valeriote.-History:...
in the next federal election. On March 30, 2007 King was acclaimed as the NDP candidate for Guelph. Present at the nomination meeting was NDP leader Jack Layton
Jack Layton
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of...
. A by-election was called in the riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
due to the resignation of incumbent Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Brenda Chamberlain
Brenda Chamberlain
Brenda Kay Chamberlain, PC was a member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Guelph for the Liberal Party from 1993 until her resignation as of April, 2008....
effective April 7 2008. Scheduled for September 8, 2008, the by-election was cancelled with the calling of the October 14, 2008 federal general election
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
. King finished fourth behind Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
candidate Frank Valeriote
Frank Valeriote
Frank Valeriote is a Canadian politician. He is the Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of Guelph.-Background:...
, Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
candidate Gloria Kovach
Gloria Kovach
Gloria Kovach is a Canadian politician. She has been a city councillor in Guelph, Ontario since 1991, and is a former president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.-Municipal politics:...
and Green
Green Party of Canada
The Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1983 with 10,000–12,000 registered members as of October 2008. The Greens advance a broad multi-issue political platform that reflects its core values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy and...
candidate Mike Nagy.
In July 2007, King made his directorial debut with I'm Not The Indian You Had In Mind, a short film for which he was also the screenwriter.
Awards and recognition
- Nominated for a Governor General's Award1992 Governor General's AwardsEach winner of the 1992 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit received $10,000 and a medal from the Governor General of Canada. The winners were selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.-Fiction:Winner:...
in 1992 for A Coyote Columbus Story. - Nominated for a Governor General's Award1993 Governor General's AwardsEach winner of the 1993 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit received $10,000 and a medal from the Governor General of Canada. The winners were selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.-Fiction:Winner:...
in 1993 for Green Grass, Running Water. - Selected in 2003 to give the Canadian Broadcasting CorporationCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
(CBC) Massey LecturesMassey LecturesThe Massey Lectures are an annual week-long series of lectures on a political, cultural or philosophical topic given in Canada by a noted scholar. They were created in 1961 to honour Vincent Massey, Governor General of Canada...
,. The lecture series titled "The Truth About Stories" was later published by the House of Anansi PressHouse of Anansi PressHouse of Anansi Press is a Canadian publishing company, founded in 1967 by writers Dennis Lee and Dave Godfrey. The company specializes in finding and developing new Canadian writers of literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction....
. - Green Grass, Running Water was chosen for the inclusion in Canada Reads 2004Canada ReadsCanada Reads is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC.-Overview:During Canada Reads, five personalities champion five different books, each champion extolling the merits of one of the titles. The debate is broadcast over a series...
, and championed by then-WinnipegWinnipegWinnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
mayorMayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Glen Murray. - In 2004, he was made a Member of the Order of CanadaOrder of CanadaThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
. - A Short History of Indians in Canada won the 2006 McNally Robinson Aboriginal Book of the Year AwardMcNally Robinson Aboriginal Book of the Year AwardThe McNally Robinson Aboriginal Book of the Year Award is a Canadian literary award, presented annually since 2005 to a First Nations, Inuit or Métis writer for a work published in English in any literary genre...
.
Electoral record
See also
- List of writers from peoples indigenous to the Americas
- Native American StudiesNative American StudiesNative American Studies is an interdisciplinary academic field that examines the history, culture, politics, issues and contemporary experience of Native peoples in North America, or, taking a hemispheric approach, the Americas...
- Canadian federal by-elections, 2008
External links
- Thomas King's entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
- 1993 Audio Interview with Thomas King at Wired for Books.org by Don SwaimDon SwaimDon Swaim is an American journalist and broadcaster.Born in Kansas, Swaim earned a degree in broadcast journalism from Ohio University and worked as editor, writer, producer, reporter and anchor at WCBS in New York and CBS in Baltimore....
- Tom King for Guelph - NDP Election Site