July 2, 1974 - Ralph Steinhauer - a podcast by Stephen Hammond

Ralph Steinhauer becomes Alberta’s first aboriginal lieutenant governor. Ralph Garvin Steinhauer was born June 8, 1905 in Morley, Alberta, which at that time was part of the Northwest Territories. Steinhauer, a full-treaty Cree, was educated at the Brandon Indian Residential School in Manitoba. At 18, he joined the United Farmers of Alberta, where he would later hold prominent positions in the agricultural, business and First Nations communities – including a stint as president of the Indian Association of Alberta. He married Isabel Davidson of Buffalo, New York in 1928 and they and their five children began farming after he cleared 40 acres of land on the Saddle Lake Indian Reserve in Alberta. There, he also sat on the band’s council for 34 years and led the community as its chief for three years. As a federal Liberal candidate in 1963, he failed to win a seat in the House of Commons, but years later caught the eye of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who appointed him provincial vice-regal. Just over ten years later, on July 2, 1974, the Honourable Ralph G. Steinhauer became Alberta’s first aboriginal lieutenant governor. Steinhauer served in this position until 1979, when he returned to his farm in Saddle Lake. Steinhauer’s many honours include the Order of Canada and three honorary doctorates of law. He died September 19, 1987 and was buried in Saddle Lake.

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