Indigenous studies programs have flourished with Little Bear
The man who was a founding member of Canada’s first Native American Studies department at the University of Lethbridge has also played a key role in the advancement of Indigenous rights and issues not just locally, but provincially, nationally and globally as well.
Leroy Little Bear was one of the initial First Nations graduates from the U of L, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971 before going on to add a law degree from the University of Utah in 1975. Since then, he has worked tirelessly to advocate for Indigenous rights and selfgovernance while also promoting educational opportunities for Indigenous people around the world.
A Blackfoot researcher and professor emeritus, Little Bear served as chair of the U of L’s Native American Studies department, as it was then known, for 21 years, but his work has made an impact far beyond Lethbridge. A U of L article in January 2019, on the occasion of his selection as an Officer of the Order of Canada, noted he also helped the University of Calgary, Bow Valley College and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in developing Indigenous studies programs, and he was the founding director of the Native American Program at Harvard University.
When he was named a member of the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2016, the province’s Lieutenant Governor’s office lauded his work as “an integral member of the legal team advising the National Indian Brotherhood on the transfer of Canada’s founding legislation, the British North America Act, from British to Canadian authority.”
The Order of Excellence induction article also praised Little Bear’s work with the United Nations, which included helping to craft the initial draft of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
In addition, the U of L article points out his role as “a member of the Indigenous Wisdom Advisory Panel that provides advice to Alberta’s Chief Scientist about how to incorporate Indigenous perspectives and traditional ecological knowledge into environmental monitoring.”
Little Bear also served as a member of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and more recently has worked on the Buffalo Treaty, an agreement between First Nations in Canada and the U.S. with the aim of protecting and restoring bison herds to the wild.