Indigenous leader.
Born at Fisher River Reserve (later renamed Fisher River Cree Nation) on 9 January 1937, he attended school up to grade 7, and then at age 14 quit school to find work. He decided to try fishing, and for a while worked out of camps on Lake Winnipeg, and later, Great Slave Lake. Then he switched to logging on the inland lakes north of Fisher River. In March 1957, he slipped and broke his leg, and after several months in hospital was told he would never be able to do heavy work again, leaving him with bleak prospects.
It was then suggested he enroll in the newly opened Indian Rehabilitation Unit at Assiniboine Hospital in Brandon, which had been established to train injured or disabled youth for employment. While being exposed to a society different from the one in which he had grown up and the ways of urban living, he brought his academic standing up to the grade 8 level. With the assistance of a rehabilitation officer, he began exploring job possibilities. After three months at the unit, he decided to enter a course in auto body repair at the Manitoba Technical Institute in Winnipeg. After graduation, he found a job with Modern Auto Body Repair in Selkirk.
He later found his way back to Fisher River, and in 1971, at the age of 34, served his first term as the Chief of Fisher River Cree Nation. In subsequent years, he served a total of eight terms as Chief, his last one being in 1987-1989.
He died at Winnipeg on 30 June 2012 and was buried in the Fisher River Community Cemetery.
“An accident changed his life,” News Bulletin of the Sanitorium Board of Manitoba, January 1960.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 2 July 2012.
Chief Wesley Hart, “Past Leadership,” Fisher River Cree Nation.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 27 April 2026
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