24 Facts About Elijah Harper

Elijah Harper was a Canadian Oji-Cree politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1981 to 1992 and a member of Parliament from 1993 to 1997.

Elijah Harper was a key factor in the rejection of the Meech Lake Accord, a proposed amendment of the Canadian constitution.

Elijah Harper was born in Red Sucker Lake, a reserve in northern Manitoba.

Elijah Harper attended residential schools in Norway House, Brandon and Birtle, Manitoba, then secondary school at Garden Hill and Winnipeg.

Elijah Harper studied at the University of Manitoba in 1971 and 1972.

Elijah Harper later worked as a community development worker, a supervisor for the Manitoba Indian Brotherhood, and a program analyst for the Manitoba Department of Northern Affairs.

In 1981, Elijah Harper contested and won the sprawling northern Manitoba riding of Rupertsland for the New Democratic Party to become the first Treaty Indian to be elected as a provincial politician.

Elijah Harper was re-elected in the 1986 Manitoba general election.

Elijah Harper was dropped from the Cabinet on September 9,1987, after being involved in a car accident while driving under the influence of alcohol.

Elijah Harper subsequently pleaded guilty to refusing a breathalyzer test, leaving the scene of an accident and driving while impaired.

Elijah Harper was fined $450, and his driver's licence was suspended for a year.

Elijah Harper stopped drinking for good, and voluntarily stopped driving for five years.

Elijah Harper was reappointed as minister of northern affairs and minister responsible for native affairs, on November 23,1987, and served in that role until the defeat of Howard Pawley's government in 1988.

Elijah Harper was again re-elected at the 1988 Manitoba general election.

In 1990, Elijah Harper achieved national fame for his refusal to accept the Meech Lake Accord, a constitutional amendment package negotiated to gain Quebec's acceptance of the Constitution Act, 1982.

Elijah Harper was displeased that the Accord had been negotiated in 1987 without the input of Canada's First Nations.

Each day, Elijah Harper, while holding an eagle feather, denied unanimous consent, so the resolution could not be debated.

Elijah Harper resigned from the Manitoba legislature on November 30,1992 with the intention of running in the federal election due in 1993.

Elijah Harper initially wanted to run for the federal New Democratic Party in the northern riding of Churchill.

Elijah Harper claimed that this change in party affiliation did not reflect a change in his principles; he intended to represent native interests in parliament, party lines notwithstanding.

Elijah Harper was a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Aboriginal Affairs.

Elijah Harper was defeated by New Democrat Bev Desjarlais in the 1997 election, and again in the 2000 election.

Elijah Harper was appointed commissioner of the Indian Claims Commission on January 21,1999, and remained in demand as a speaker until his death.

The film, entitled Elijah Harper, was produced for the CTV Television Network.