Walter Currie (educator)

Last updated
Walter Currie
Born(1922-10-01)October 1, 1922
Chatham, Ontario
DiedJanuary 11, 2014(2014-01-11) (aged 91)
Kitchener, Ontario
Occupation teacher, educator, human rights activist, activist, civil servant
Alma mater University of Windsor
PartnerJune

Walter Currie (1922-2014) was an educator and public advocate. He was part of the movement after the Second World War advocating for Indigenous educational reform at the local and national level in Canada. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Walter Currie was born in Chatham, Ontario in 1922. [1] The son of William and Clara Currie, he was a non-status Indian of Potowatomi and Ojibwe descent. [3] He served three years in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War Two, [4] and later studied engineering at the University of Toronto, before leaving his studies early to support his young family. [4] He would later complete his degree at the University of Windsor and go on to complete his teacher's certificate at London's Teachers College. [4] He was a school teacher in Kitchener and principal at Danesbury Public School in North York Township between 1953 and 1968. [1] [5] [6] In 1966 he was appointed to head an Ontario Governmental committee on the "Indian in the City." [7] He later became a superintendent with the Ontario Department of Education with responsibilities Indian and northern schools from 1968 to 1971. [1] [8] During this period, he was active in local and provincial affairs, and s quoted in major newspapers on topics related to Indigenous education, discrimination against Indigenous people in urban areas, lack of representation of Indigenous history, language and culture in the media and in school curriculum, as well as the "social ills" of television. [5] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Currie also served as president of the Indian-Eskimo Association of Canada and was the first chairman of the Toronto Indian Friendship Centre from 1969 to 1971. [1] [12] He was one of the first two members of Ontario's Human Rights Commission, and served from 1972 to 1974. [1] In July 1971, Currie was appointed as chair of Native Studies at Trent University, where he served a term to 1975. [13] [14] [15] In this role, Currie continued to be active on provincial and national Indigenous issues, particularly educational reform, [16] repatriation of cultural artifacts, [17] and, entrepreneurial opportunities on- and off-reserve for Indigenous business people. [18] He also co-wrote a commissioned report with Donald L. Faris in 1983, in which they investigated claims that the City of Regina's police force was misusing police dogs. [19] [20] [21] Currie died on January 11, 2014. [22]

Select publications and speeches

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mccardle, Bennett (2008-01-30). "Walter Currie | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
  2. ↑ Elias, Peter Douglas. (1991). Development of aboriginal people's communities. North York, Ont., Canada: Captus Press. pp.  4. ISBN   0-921801-51-3. OCLC   26014487.
  3. ↑ Jarvis, Ann (1991-10-21). "Black, Indian plights compared as church marks its 150th year". Windsor Star. p. A5 – via ProQuest.
  4. 1 2 3 Catto, Helen (1967-07-06). "History of 3 Interracial Marriages: Eloping meant no chance of a scene". The Globe & Mail. p. W1 – via ProQuest.
  5. 1 2 "TV blasted, blessed at welfare council meet". Toronto Daily Star. 1965-07-05. p. 36 – via ProQuest.
  6. ↑ "This Indian always played the cowboy: He hated losing". Toronto Daily Star. 1966-01-13. p. B33 – via ProQuest.
  7. ↑ Sangster, Joan (2017). "Presidential Address Confronting Our Colonial Past: Reassessing Political Alliances over Canada's Twentieth Century". Journal of the CHA. 28: 19.
  8. 1 2 "Beware 'Red Power,' Indian riots: Sociologist". Toronto Daily Star. 1968-09-26. p. 9 – via ProQuest.
  9. ↑ "Indians 'forced to break law'". Toronto Daily Star. 1967-07-08. p. 5 – via ProQuest.
  10. ↑ McDuff, Gerald (1969-11-11). "Indians, Eskimos want aid from CBC". Toronto Daily Star. p. 8 – via ProQuest.
  11. ↑ Schiff, Martin (1965-07-05). "Idiot's Machine or Educational? Split Over TV". The Globe & Mail. p. 17 – via ProQuest.
  12. ↑ Canada, Indian-Eskimo Association of. Indian-Eskimo Association of Canada fonds (1957-1970).
  13. ↑ McCue, Harvey (2011). "He Walked in Our Moccasins and Mukluks: Tom Symons and Native and Northern Studies and Policy". Tom Symons: A Canadian Life: 73–88. doi:10.2307/j.ctv16sh3.7.
  14. ↑ Rogers, Edward S.; Smith, Donald B. (1994). Aboriginal Ontario : historical perspectives on the First Nations . Toronto [Ont.]: Dundurn Press. ISBN   978-1-55488-063-8. OCLC   244771106.
  15. ↑ Taner, Shona (1999). "The Evolution of Native Studies in Canada: Descending from the Ivory Tower" (PDF). Canadian Journal of Native Studies. XIX: 289–319.
  16. ↑ "Indian reserves called 'time-bomb' White schooling blamed". Toronto Daily Star. 1971-08-27. p. 1 – via ProQuest.
  17. ↑ McCabe, Nora (1972-01-04). "'Return Indian heritage,' whites told". Toronto Daily Star. p. 24 – via ProQuest.
  18. ↑ Henton, Darcy (1990-07-01). "Native Business Can Work: Indian leasers say governments must change the rules they use to fund enterprise if Canada's natives are to benefit". Toronto Star. p. F1, F4 – via ProQuest.
  19. ↑ Cleroux, Richard (1983-09-20). "Complaints force Regina to leash city police dogs". The Globe & Mail. p. 9 – via ProQuest.
  20. ↑ "Regina police face feat over canines". The Globe and Mail. 1984-02-25. p. 14 – via ProQuest.
  21. ↑ Strauss, Marina (1983-06-11). "Rights groups want Regina police to stop using dogs". The Globe and Mail. p. P5 – via ProQuest.
  22. ↑ "Mr. Walter Currie - Obituaries - Chatham, ON - Your Life Moments". www.yourlifemoments.ca. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
  23. ↑ Faris, Donald L; Currie, Walter; Regina Board of Police Commissioners (1983). Review of the Regina Police Service Canine Unit. Regina, Sask.: Regina Board of Police Commissioners. OCLC   317625446.
  24. ↑ Currie, Walter; Mid-Canada Development Corridor Conference, eds. (1971). Urbanization of Indians; address by W. Currie ... to Mid-Canada Development Corridor Conference [at] Lakehead University, Aug. 20, 1969. Toronto, Ont.: Indian-Eskimo Association of Canada. OCLC   39012626.
  25. ↑ Deiter, Walter; Currie, Walter (1970). Presentation to Senate Committee on Poverty. Winnipeg, Manitoba: National Indian Brotherhood of Canada. OCLC   54172296.
  26. ↑ Currie, Walter (1968). "Is the Canadian Indian Act "Legislated Discriminaiton"?". Human Relations. 8 (16): 10–12. OCLC   462017706.
  27. ↑ Currie, Walter (1967). The native Canadian and legislated discrimination: an address by Walter Currie to the Progressive Conservative Centennial Policy Conference, Maison Montmorency, Couville, P.Q., August 6-10, 1967. Toronto: Indian-Eskimo Association of Canada. OCLC   24813344.
  28. ↑ Currie, Walter; Indians and the City Conference, eds. (1970). Indians and the city: address [delivered at the] "Indians and the City" Conference, Winnipeg, Man., October 1966. Toronto: Indian-Eskimo Association of Canada. OCLC   877118752.
  29. ↑ Currie, Walter (1966). Indians and the city. OCLC   606446783.
  30. ↑ Currie, Walter (1970). Indians and the city : A project of the Indian-Eskimo Association of Canada in cooperation with the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Toronto: Indian-Eskimo Association of Canada.
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