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Saskatchewan native leader David Ahenakew, who fought a high-profile legal battle over claims he incited antisemitism, has died after losing a battle to cancer, Canadian media reported Saturday. He was 76.
A leading aboriginal figure for decades, Ahenakew held senior positions in First Nations organizations both in Saskatchewan and nationally. But his golden reputation came crashing down in 2002, when he praised Hitler and said Jews were responsible for World War II.
Although he faced years of court battles and was stripped of his Order of Canada, an initial conviction was eventually overturned and Ahakenew was acquitted of charges he promoted hatred.
"I'll remember him as a strong leader and a family man and a man who stood for his principles," Doug Cuthand, an author and filmmaker who worked with Ahenakew in the 1970s, told CBC News.
"I was always impressed with how he stood up for treaty rights."
Ahenakew was born and grew up on the Ahtahkakoop First Nation reserve north of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
Following 16 years of service in the Canadian Forces, Ahenakew became politically active and was elected as head of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians in 1968.
He shot to national fame a year later when he opposed the 1969 federal white paper that urged assimilation of Indian and Metis, or mixed race people. He later became chief of the National Indian Brotherhood, the predecessor of the Assembly of First Nations.
