OKANAGAN LEONARD S. MARCHAND, SR. ELECTED-1ST STATUS INDIAN MEMBER OF CANADA’S HOUSE OF COMMONS
Born November 16, 1933, in Vernon, British Columbia (BC), Leonard was the 1st status Indian graduate from a Vernon public high school. Earning a Bachelor’s degree (Agriculture) at University of BC (UBC) & Master’s (Range Management) from University of Idaho, he published peer reviewed scientific papers for the Department of Agriculture & was a UBC Faculty Distinguished Alumni. Marchand was with the Native American Brotherhood before working in Ottawa for cabinet ministers. In 1968, as a Liberal, he won the Kamloops-Cariboo House of Commons seat—1st Status Indian elected to that body—and held cabinet posts as Minister of State for Small Business (1976-77) & Environment Minister (1977-79) until defeated in 1979. In 1984, he was appointed to the Senate, retiring in 1998. Awards include: Orders of Canada (1999) & of BC (2014); Queen’s Jubilee Medal; & National Aboriginal Achievement Award. In 2000, he published an autobiography, Breaking Trail. Marchand died June 3, 2016, in Kamloops, BC.
Sources: “Len Marchand, Canada's first status Indian elected to Parliament, dies at 82,” Canadian Press, 6/3/2016, republished by Beyond the Dash. Retrieved 11/25/2021, Len Marchand | Obituary | Beyond the Dash “Obituary: Leonard Stephen Marchand,” Dignity Memorial. Retrieved 11/25/2021, Leonard Marchand Obituary - Kamloops, BC (dignitymemorial.com) Wikipedia Photo: Government of Canada (Parliament), 1984. Permissive Use. Source: Profile - Marchand, Len (parl.ca)
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