George Manuel, Neskonlith, 1921-1989
Throughout his life he worked for his community, for
the aboriginal people of the nation, and for the indigenous people
of the world. From 1975 to 1981 he was the founding president
of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples. He realized that the
aboriginal people of BC had much in common with other indigenous
nations-elements of worldview, spirituality, relations with the
colonizers and the fight to maintain rights in the face of adversity.
Manuel was instrumental in bringing about the Universal Declaration
of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. While President of the Union
of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (1979-1981), he developed the
Aboriginal Rights Position Paper and organized what came to be
regarded as one of the Union’s most ambitious projects –
the Indian Constitutional Express. A longer biography appears
in Native Leaders of Canada.