Biography

SENATOR ALLAN BIRD

"We need to be ready to meet God - anywhere, anyhow, anyplace"

1921 - 2006




Allan was born on September 21, 1921 in Montreal Lake, Saskatchewan and had passed away on March 15, 2006 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan at the age of 84 years. Allan's parents were Zacharias Halkett of Little Red and Miriam Turner of Montreal Lake. He was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. John Bell.

When he was 17, he married Sally Victoria Bird, age 16, on January 13, 1939. Two hours after he had gotten married, he had to go back to work for a forestry company, cutting wood in the Montreal Lake - Molanosa area. He had worked in Waskesui as a Towerman and he would take his family with him at times when he would go to work. Allan also had worked in Pelican Narrows at the Health Centre as the Maintenance Person. He was also a Driver Instructor for a few years. He worked hard to provide for his family. He had left the reserve to work for different employees to put food on the table.

Together, Allan and Sally, had 13 children who had all lived in the reserve. They are Alice LaVallee, Roy H. Bird, Richie Bird, Beverly Bird, Alphonse Bird, Marty Bird, Patti Bird, Allan N. Bird, Stewart Bird, and Burton Bird - David Bird, Bobby Bird and Elizabeth Bird are deceased. Allan also had 5 other children: Melinda Naytowhow, Leslie Bird, Freddy LaVallee, Roy Michel and Jean Bougie (deceased). Through the traditional way, he adopted: Al Ducharme, Shirley Henderson and Dutch Lerat into the Bird Family. Throughout the years, there have been a lot of people who considers him like a father, uncle, or grandfather. He leaves 69 grandchildren, 55 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great grandchildren to celebrate his life.

Allan had enlisted in the army around 1952 and was active in the Korean War. He was a paratrooper in the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI). He was third in line of war veterans in his family. His father, Zacharias, had served in World War I and hsi brother Simeon Halkett was in World War II who landed at Normandy on D-Day. Allan passed on this legacy to his late grandson, Dale LaVallee, who had been involved in the Militia.

During his time in the trenches, he discovered God and carried his belief in God and spirituality throughout his life. He was always active with the local Anglican Church in his home community. In the earlier days, Allan would go to the church every Sunday morning where he would fire up the wood heater and clean up in preparation for the church services. He was still attending to his pre-Sunday service routine just before he died. On February 19, 2004, Allan Bird recieved the Order of Saskatchewan in recognition for years of exemplary service for the church.

Allan had stayed eleven months in Korea and returned to Canada shortly after an armistice was signed on July 27, 1953. Upon returning to Montreal Lake shortly following the Korean War, he had seen the need for equality between the First Nations and the non-First Nations people. When he was at war, he fought side by side with non-First Nations and they all earned mutual respect as comrades. Once he returned to Canada, he was treated differently. He was told to go back to his reserve. Indian Affairs still controlled most aspects of the reserve life - there was an Indian Agent on the reserve. People had to receive permission from the agent in order to leave the reserve.

Allan started his political life when he returned from the Korean War. "He and many other veterans started changing the structures of the reserves. Instead of the Department [of Indian Affairs] and Canada itself handling totally everything, they brought back the will, the changes, that were required, to bring us to where we are today.

In the 1960s, Allan Bird, became Chief of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation and served several terms, off and on, along with political rival and friend Gilbert Bird. During his time as Chief, he was elected by his fellow Prince Albert District Chiefs, the forerunner of the Prince Albert Grand Council, to be the District Representative, which today would be the title of the Grand Chief. In 1980, both Allan and Gilbert Bird made an agreement that they would turn over the leadership to a new generation, and they would be relegated to advisors. In 1984, the Prince Albert District Chiefs passed a resolution for Allan Bird to become a Senator of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, and he was sworn in that year. He carried this title proudly. Allan was an advocator for our treaty rights. He would always speak up and fiercely defend the treaties and treaty rights of the people and the language and defended the cultural differences.