Lynda Prince

  1. Home
  2. Wiki
Lynda Prince
Carrier Sekani Tribal Council Tribal Chief
In office
1994–1997
Preceded byJusta Monk
Succeeded byMavis Erickson
Nak'azdli Band Member
Personal details
Mother tongueCarrier language

Lynda Prince is a Canadian First Nations advocate and politician who served as Tribal Chief of the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council from 1994 to 1997.[1] She is considered Canada's first female Grand Chief.[2][3]

She was born in Tache, British Columbia[3] to a family of 15 siblings.[4] She was sent to a residential school at 5 years old,[2] and experienced the abuse first had.[3][4]

She was appointed Executive Director of the Carrier Sekani Family Services in 1993, a position she held for a year.[5] She was reelected as Tribal Chief in 1995 and 1996.[6][7] She worked on Carrier self-government,[8] and a framework agreement was signed in April 1997.[9] She called for a full scale enquiry into the abuse at residential schools. [10] She was succeeded by Mavis Erickson.[11]

Her uncle, Raymon Prince, fought in the Second World War with the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada.[12]

Prince's experiences in the Catholic run residential school pushed her away from Christianity, through later in life she reconnected with the religion.[3] She doesn't self identify as a Christian, despite holding those beliefs and working with Christian Indigenous groups in North America and worldwide. she brought 120 drums to Native communities in the United States for "Christian ceremonies as a way of encouraging American Indians to worship in the ways of their culture".[13][14]

In 1999 she joined a mission of 100 Indigenous leaders to the Israeli Knesset.[15] She was involved in the creation of the Indigenous Embassy, Jerusalem, and has endorsed embassy being led by the Maori community.[16]

Reference List

[edit]
  1. ^ "Previous Tribal Chiefs". carriersekani.ca. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  2. ^ a b Dueck, Lorna (31 October 2000). "Sorry isn't good enough". The Globe and Mail.
  3. ^ a b c d Harevy, Bob (11 November 2000). "Christianity 'a dirty word' to natives: Female grand chief can 'forgive, not forget' residential schools". The Ottawa Citizen.
  4. ^ a b "The Genocide of Canadian Indians - The Story of Lynda Prince". EAEC. Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  5. ^ "Reflections 1990 - 2015" (PDF).
  6. ^ "Here Now - Second Term". The Prince George Citizen. 27 June 1995. p. 3.
  7. ^ "Prince back as chief". Prince George Free Press. 7 November 1996. pp. A4.
  8. ^ Nielsen, Mark (1 May 1997). "Carrier Sekani want self-government like Nisaga'a". Prince George Free Press. Cariboo News Service. pp. A16.
  9. ^ Curran, Deborah; M'Gonigle, Michael (1999). "Aboriginal Forestry: Community Management as Opportunity and Imperative" (PDF). Osgoode Hall Law Journal. 37 (4): 77.
  10. ^ Hoekstra, Gordon (23 November 1996). "Tribal leader welcomes royal commission report". The Prince George Citizen. p. 1.
  11. ^ Hoekstra, Gordon (17 September 1997). "Harvard law grad takes helm of tribal council". The Prince George Citizen. p. 1.
  12. ^ Trick, Bernice (5 December 1996). "Native veteran rights advocate dies at 73". The Prince George Citizen. p. 13.
  13. ^ "Mariposa Revival Center | Honoring Native Americans". mariposarevivalcenter.org. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  14. ^ "Drums of Thunder in Valley". Fresno Bee. 24 February 2001. pp. B5.
  15. ^ "American Natives Tour Israeli Parliament". Anchorage Daily News. 24 September 1999. pp. B4.
  16. ^ "First Nations Of North America Welcome Māori Pacific Leaders Of Indigenous Embassy Jerusalem | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 2025-11-09.