Guy R. Williams was a Canadian Senator

Canadian Senate

The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...

 and First Nations

First Nations

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

 leader and was, for a number of years, the only Native Canadian in the Senate. He was appointed in 1971, following the 1970 retirement of James Gladstone

James Gladstone

James Gladstone was the first Status Indian to be appointed to the Canadian Senate....

 who had been the first status Indian appointed to the upper house

Upper house

An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...

.

Williams was born on a Native reserve

Indian reserve

In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...

. He worked for a time in a mill, before becoming a fisherman and then starting his own boat building business.

He was president of the Native Brotherhood of British Columbia for twelve years until his appointment to the Senate.

External links

• Parliamentary biography