Chief Roland Hamilton being remembered as ‘tireless advocate’ for Bloodvein First Nation

Posted on July 13, 2024 by Peggy

The chief of an eastern Manitoba First Nation is being remembered for his dedication and his advocacy for his community.

Bloodvein First Nation Chief Roland Hamilton’s daughter, Lea-Anne Hamilton, posted about his death on Facebook Saturday morning, writing, “You never know when the last hug will be the last hug.”

His death was sudden and unexpected, the Southern Chiefs’ Organization said in a social media post on Friday. It did not say what the cause of death was.

Hamilton was “a strong advocate for his Nation,” the SCO’s post said.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs also paid tribute to Hamilton in a Friday post, calling him “a dedicated leader and a tireless advocate for his community.”

“His legacy of leadership and commitment to the betterment of his people will continue to live on,” the AMC’s post said.

Niki Ashton, the member of Parliament for Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, the federal riding that includes Bloodvein First Nation, said she’ll remember Hamilton as a respectful and community-focused leader.

The chief was a champion for the all-weather road that was built into Bloodvein a number of years ago, she said, and fought for young people in his community.

More recently, he also advocated for the community to get a fire truck, which it finally got this year, said Ashton.

The last thing the two spoke about was the ongoing push to get cellphone service into the First Nation, she said.

“His last message to me was his hope that there would be cell service, and that Bell-MTS would finally ensure the hookup going into the fall, which is the timeline that he’d been working with in mind,” Ashton told CBC on Saturday.

“Right until the last moment, Chief Hamilton was advocating for his people, advocating for improvements to the quality of life [for] people in Bloodvein, whether it was in terms of transportation or education or fire safety or the desperate need for cell service,” she said.

“He leaves behind a legacy of a leader who believed deeply in a bright future for his people, for the people of Bloodvein,” and “who believed that we all need to come together as levels of government to work with First Nations like Bloodvein and others to improve the lives of people,” said Ashton.