Distinguished UBC Aboriginal Alumni

GraduationStarting with Frank Calder in 1946, countless distinguished and influential Aboriginal figures have graduated from UBC. Aboriginal alumni include political leaders, artists, poets, authors, judges, and musicians who have gone on to profoundly influence Canadian politics and culture.

Some notable ones include:

  • Howard Adams, Métis activist and academic.
  • Frank Calder, founder of the Nisga’a Tribal Council and pioneer of First Nations land claims, he was the first status First Nation to attend UBC; be elected a Member of the BC Legislature; and to be appointed a Minister of the Crown.
  • Bradley Hunt, celebrated Heiltsuk artist.
  • Inez Jasper, Aboriginal People’s Choice Music Award winner and Juno nominee.
  • Ed John, First Nations Summit Grand Chief and hereditary Chief of the Tl’azt’en First Nation.
  • Leonard Marchand, the first status First Nation member of the House of Commons and later the fifth Aboriginal to sit in the Canadian Senate.
  • Daniel David Moses, poet and playwright.
  • The Honourable Steven L. Point, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia and former elected Chief of the Skowkale First Nation.
  • Eden Robinson, critically acclaimed author of Monkey Beach and Traplines.
  • Alfred Scow, the first Aboriginal law school graduate in BC, the first Aboriginal lawyer called to the BC bar and the first legally trained Aboriginal judge appointed to the BC Provincial Court.
  • Alfred Waugh, the award-winning architect of many of BC’s most prominent Aboriginal spaces.

 


Page modified: June 5, 2015