Lynda Prince | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Carrier Sekani Tribal Council Tribal Chief | |
| In office 1994–1997 | |
| Preceded by | Justa Monk |
| Succeeded by | Mavis Erickson |
| Nak'azdli Band Member | |
| Personal details | |
| Mother tongue | Carrier 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]