Born: 1972, Canada
Died: NA
Country most active: Canada
Also known as: Sheila North Wilson
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
In 2015, Sheila North Wilson became the first woman to be voted as the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) Grand Chief by First Nations leaders.
Sheila North, from Bunibonibee Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba, is a prominent Cree leader and journalist. In 2012, she coined the hashtag #MMIW for missing and murdered indigenous women while working at the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. She also assisted with English-to-Cree translation for the 2012 documentary “We Were Children.” In 2017, North addressed the federal parliament’s Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee regarding the nation’s failure to fulfill the compensation commitment for hydropower development as outlined in the Northern Flood Agreement.