A Message on the Passing of Murray Sinclair

On November 4th, at a meeting of the Board Trustees Tammy Sault and Claudine VanEvery-Albert shared a tribute and moment of silence for the Honourable Murray Sinclair.

Murray Sinclair or Mizanay (Mizhana) Gheezhik, meaning “The One Who Speaks of Pictures in the Sky” in Anishinaabemowin, age 73, died yesterday in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

He was the Chief Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, a lawyer, judge, and senator. Born in 1951 in Selkirk, MB, Sinclair was called to the Manitoba Bar in 1980. He focused primarily on civil and criminal litigation, Indigenous law, and human rights. In 1988, he became Manitoba’s first and Canada’s second Indigenous judge.

Sinclair joined the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as its Chief Commissioner in 2009 before becoming a Senator in 2016. He retired from the Senate in 2021 but continued to mentor Indigenous lawyers. The breadth of his public service and community work demonstrates his commitment to Indigenous Peoples in Canada. In recognition of his work, Sinclair was a Companion of the Order of Canada and received the Order of Manitoba, among many other awards.

Sinclair will be missed in the legal community, the Onkwehónwe and Anishinaabek communities, and the larger Canadian public. We send our condolences to his family and friends.

With deepest sympathy,