11th Earl of Selkirk dead at 81

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WINNIPEG — Lord James Alexander Douglas-Hamilton — a relation of the fifth Earl of Selkirk who signed the 1817 treaty with Chief Peguis and other leaders recognizing Indigenous land rights in an area including what would be become Manitoba — has died at 81.

The 11th Earl of Selkirk and former cabinet minister in the Thatcher and Major U.K. governments died Nov. 28.

Tributes to Douglas-Hamilton were heard from politicians and peers in the United Kingdom, as the veteran Scottish statesman was lauded for “a lifetime of commitment and contribution.”

In Manitoba, he was remembered with fondness, due to his friendship with the descendants of the Indigenous people who signed what became known as the Peguis-Selkirk Treaty.

“He was a soft-spoken, caring individual,” said Jim Bear, former Brokenhead Ojibway Nation chief and a descendent of Chief Peguis.

“We often spoke of First Nation issues and the tremendous positive advancement and achievements of our people, in spite of the many challenges we face,” Bear said Friday, adding he had been looking forward to seeing Douglas-Hamilton again at the future unveiling of a monument to honour the treaty’s participants.

“We both took pride in the fact we were able to keep the connection alive that was started by our ancestors in the 1800s to the current era.”

Expected to be unveiled next year, the monument will be the first on the Manitoba legislature grounds honouring the contributions of First Nations people to the founding and building of the province.

“Who knows? Maybe his son will travel here for the monument unveiling,” Bear said.

Thomas Douglas (1771-1820), founder of the Red River Colony, signed a treaty with five First Nations chiefs to gift land two miles (3.2 kilometres) on either side of the Red and Assiniboine rivers to the Selkirk Settlers, with the rest staying with Indigenous people.

Entering politics in 1972 as an Edinburgh councillor, Douglas-Hamilton later served as a junior minister in Tory prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s government, then minister of state under prime minister John Major, before joining the Scottish parliament in 1999.

He became the 11th Earl of Selkirk after the death of his uncle, George Nigel Douglas-Hamilton (1906-94), but rejected the title to continue as a politician.

When he lost in an election in 1997, he was named to the House of Lords as a life peer.

His 45-year-old son, John Andrew Douglas-Hamilton, became the 12th Earl of Selkirk this week.

John Perrin, past-president of the St. Andrew’s Society of Winnipeg and a member of the committee working towards creating the monument at the legislature, said through their years of meetings, he became friends with Douglas-Hamilton.

The connection included inviting Perrin and his wife for dinner and an overnight stay at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

“He was just such a wonderful person,” Perrin said. “He was a true gentleman, the most gentlemanly you could meet.

“He had a great affection for Winnipeg, Manitoba and his First Nations friends,” he added, noting Douglas-Hamilton travelled to the province for both the 200th anniversary of the Selkirk Settlers’ arrival (1812) and again for the 200th anniversary of the signing of the 1817 treaty.

“He really continued to have a role in Manitoba history and he was looking forward to coming here for the unveiling of the monument.”

Bill Shead, a member of Peguis First Nation and the monument committee, said Douglas-Hamilton invited both he and his wife to have lunch at the House of Lords.

“He was very supportive about the treaty and he was an extreme friend of the people who were involved in making that treaty 200 years ago,” Shead said.

“I never expected that. He was a champion of the treaty and he revived the spirit. He was just a great friend to those of us in Red River.”

» Winnipeg Free Press