Remembering MQUP Author Terry Fenge

MQUP was proud to take part in a tribute to Terry Fenge at a conference in Ottawa this week. Terry co-edited two books for MQUP, including the new collection Keeping Promises: The Royal Proclamation of 1763, Aboriginal Rights, and Treaties in Canada. He died of a sudden heart attack in early November, soon after the first copies of Keeping Promises reached him.

The conference, “Making Treaties Work for Future Generations,” was organized by the Land Claims Agreements Coalition. It took place in Tabaret Hall at the University of Ottawa, bringing together Aboriginal leaders, government officials and scholars from across the country. Collectively, modern treaties affect nearly half of Canada’s land, waters and resources. They define how resources on traditional lands can be used and co-managed to the benefit of all Canadians.

The speeches yesterday showed the high respect and indeed the love that Terry had earned from his colleagues. As a researcher and consultant he travelled widely, not just in northern Canada but internationally too, and he cared deeply about the well-being of Aboriginal people. His years of work in Nunavut and elsewhere had convinced him that modern treaties could and should be the basis for building a new and positive relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the wider Canadian society; and he was determined to make sure that treaties gave Aboriginal peoples new opportunities for self-reliance and economic development, as well as cultural and social health.

The Acknowledgments to Keeping Promises give a clear idea of Terry’s sense of commitment: “This book is dedicated to Indigenous peoples in Canada and throughout the Americas. Colonization and dispossession – by the Spanish, Portuguese, French, British, Dutch, Americans and Canadians – are a constant theme in the Western Hemisphere since 1492. Yet Indigenous peoples have survived and continue to live in all parts of the hemisphere, seeking to recover lost rights and to determine their own futures in line with the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. While this book addresses circumstances in Canada, its broad intent is to support the achievement of self-determination by Indigenous peoples wherever they reside.”

MQUP joins with his family, his colleagues and his many friends in mourning the loss of Terry Fenge. Not only was he a passionate and determined advocate for Indigenous rights; as several speakers at the Ottawa conference recalled, he approached his work in a spirit of good cheer, being always ready with a quip and a smile. Now that Canada is entering a new era in its relations with Aboriginal peoples, his wisdom and energy will be sorely missed.

— Mark Abley, Editor, MQUP