Donald Marshall, R.I.P.

With a heavy heart, we mourn the passing on Donald Marshall (Sept. 13, 1953–Aug. 6, 2009), a man who stood up for his rights as an Aboriginal.

In 1971, the 17-year-old Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq was wrongly convicted of a murder he didn’t commit and spent 11 years in prison.

In 1990, Marshall was exonerated by a royal commission that determined systemic racism had contributed to his wrongful imprisonment.

At his funeral, AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo called Marshall an inspiration. “I feel so inspired… by a man who knew who he was, where he came from, and for what he believed in.”