Mohawk Scholar Recieves National Honours

Dr. Taiaiake Alfred, the University of Victoria Canada Research Chair in Studies of Indigenous Peoples, is the recipient of a 2006 National Aboriginal Achievement Award. He will be among the Canadian Aboriginal leaders to be honoured in 14 categories during a gala ceremony in Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Jan. 27. The evening will be broadcast nation-wide the following evening on both the Global and Aboriginal Peoples Television Networks. Alfred is a faculty member and founding director of UVic’s Indigenous governance program. Born in Montreal and raised in the Kanien’kehaka (Mohawk) community of Kahnawake, he graduated from Concordia University in Montreal and earned an MA and PhD from Cornell University in New York.
Alfred served as an infantryman with the U.S. Marines prior to embarking on his academic career. A prolific author of hundreds of articles and three books on Indigenous governance he remains active in Indigenous communities as an advisor and strategist to many First Nation governments and community organizations, often providing passionate and incisive commentary on politics and culture. His most recent book, Wasase: Indigenous Pathways of Action and Freedom, calls for a rejection of the current structure and approach to settling land claims and self-governance issues in favour of a system based on indigenous traditions. For further information on the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards and this year’s recipients visit www.naaf.ca

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