Introduction
Willie Littlechild, AOE, also known as J. Wilton Littlechild or Wilton Littlechild, (born April 1, 1944) is a Cree lawyer and former member of Parliament. He was born in Hobbema, now named Maskwacis, Alberta.
History
As a young man, Wilton Littlechild was a successful athlete who won ten Athlete of the Year Awards. He obtained a master's degree in physical education from the University of Alberta. He later became the first Treaty Indian from Alberta to obtain a law degree. He won the national Tom Longboat Award in 1967 and 1974, and was one of the founders of the North American Indigenous Games, begun in 1990 in Edmonton, Alberta. He has also consistently advocated for the creation of the World Indigenous Games, which would provide competitive events for Indigenous athletes from around the world.
Littlechild was the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada Member of Parliament for Wetaskiwin from 1988 to 1993. Littlechild did not stand for re-election in the 1993 general election. After leaving Parliament, Littlechild continued to be involved in politics. He was the founder of the International Organization of Indigenous Resource Development, a United Nations non-governmental organization.
Littlechild is a member of the Ermineskin Cree Nation. The Indian Association of Alberta presents the Willie Littlechild Achievement Award to six First Nations students each year.
In 2006, Littlechild was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians, awarded for "outstanding contributions to the promotion and understanding of Canada's parliamentary system of government".