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Canadians are mourning the death of Mizhanay (Mizhana) Gheezhik, known by his anglicised name, Murray Sinclair, a former senator and Chair of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC.) He died peacefully at a Winnipeg hospital at the age of 73 according to a statement from his family.
Sinclair received an honorary doctorate as a Doctor of Laws from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) in 2013 and played a major role in shifting the school’s policies regarding Indigenous people.
A sacred fire was lit in his honour outside of the Manitoba Legislative Building where he was the province’s first Indigenous judge, and where people have been paying their respects since last night. In a statement released by his daughter Dené Sinclair on Facebook, the family expressed the importance of only having one fire.
As part of the Ojibway First Nation, Sinclair and his family respect the belief that a single guiding fire will “guide his spirit from the physical world to the spirit world.”
Murray has had a significant impact on the course of Canadian/Indigenous relations. Having attended a residential school, Sinclair dedicated his life to bringing awareness to a vast array of Indigenous issues.
He worked his way up the legal system, progressing through the role of a lawyer, and eventually becoming the second Indigenous judge in Canada. He was later appointed to the Manitoba Superior Court, also formerly known as the Queen’s Bench of Manitoba. He was subsequently appointed to the Canadian senate, serving from 2016 until his resignation in 2021.
Sinclair also served as chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission from 2009-2015. He has received multiple honorary degrees from 14 universities, including a Doctorate of Laws from TMU.
In a statement released on Monday by the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Sinclair was described as a “tremendously accomplished and inspirational leader.” He received multiple awards throughout the course of his career, including the Meritorious Service Cross and the Order of Manitoba. According to Radio Canada, he was also named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2022.
“We have described for you a mountain. We have shown you the way to the top. We call upon you to do the climbing” Sinclair said in his last meeting as Chairman of the TRC in 2015.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Dené Sinclair as Murray Sinclair’s son. OTR regrets the mistake.
Claire Dufourd (she/her) is in her fourth year of the journalism program at Toronto Metropolitan University and is part of the On the Record Fall 2024 masthead.
