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The Honourable James Gladstone

This bronze bust commemorates the Honourable James Gladstone, the first senator with Indian status and a champion of voting rights for Indigenous people. 

Mr. Gladstone hailed from Alberta, where he was a farmer and member of the Blood Tribe in the Blackfoot Nation. He was appointed to the Senate in 1958, at a time when he and other status Indians — Indigenous people registered as Indian with the federal government — were denied the right to vote in federal elections. Senator Gladstone helped secure that right two years into his tenure. 

Thirty years after Mr. Gladstone’s retirement from the Senate, the Upper Chamber launched a national contest to select a sculptor for a commissioned bust of Mr. Gladstone that would honour his historic appointment and contributions. The finished bust was unveiled in October 2001 and is now displayed in the Upper Chamber’s temporary home, the Senate of Canada Building. 

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