Part of my reacculturation experience has been learning more about my rich family history.
This is my Great Grandfather, Hilliard McNab (1916-1990).
Chief Hilliard McNab
The Cree word for Grandfather is Moshom (pronounced moos som). He served for 32 years on the council of George Gordon First Nation, 16 years of those as chief.
According to “The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan”and his Memorial Scholarship Facebook group (which is operated by the McNab family), he was a founding member of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians, the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies and was a charter member of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.
In 1984, he was inducted into the Order of Canada, which is Canada’s highest honour. On a personal note, he was married to Doris and their son, Ivan, is my Grandfather.
Melanie McNab is a Plains Cree woman who was raised in Saskatchewan, Canada. She was adopted into a white family and is trying to find herself culturally. She joined a (settled) class action lawsuit by Sixties Scoop Survivors against the Government of Canada. Melanie is a storyteller and is working on a humorous memoir. Follow her story on Instagram at @bad.ndn
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