Chief isidore day biography of williams

Ontario’s Regional Chief Isadore Day was in Grade 2 when a group of children called him a “wagon burner.”

At first, the words confused him, but he quickly realized the name reminded him of something he had once seen in a western movie: First Nations people causing chaos, acting violent, and setting fire to wagons.

Day knew the words weren’t true but the taunts still stung.

“That was a very offensive term that I didn’t fully understand, but I knew what I saw in the western movies and I saw how native people were depicted and they were depicted as violent, as unruly and as being very disregarding to white people.”

Day is Ojibway.

He was born in Elliot Lake, and grew up on Serpent River First Nation Reserve in Ontario, where he was elected chief in 2005.

Global News anchor Farah Nasser spoke with Day about this experience as p