Elsie Charles Basque (1916-2016) was a Mi’kmaq known as the first member of her tribe to earn a teaching certificate.[1] She became a noted educator and was a recipient of the Order of Canada in 2009.[2]
Elsie Charles Basque CM | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 12, 1916 |
| Died | April 11, 2016 (aged 99) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation(s) | Teacher, activist |
| Known for | Order of Canada awardee |
| Spouse | Isaac Basque |
Biography
Basque was born on May 12, 1916, to Joe Charles and Margaret Labrador in Hectanooga, Digby County.[3] She was three years old when her mother, Margaret, left the family and his father contracted tuberculosis.[4] His father became a tour guide to wealthy Americans when he got better. He taught his daughter how to fish and hunt.[4]
When Basque was 13, her father sent her to study at a residential school.[3] She then attended the Shubenacadie Residential School from 1930 to 1932, years that she later characterized as "wasted".[2] She entered the school to begin grade 8 but was still in the same grade two years later when she left.[4] She finished high school in 1936 at Meteghan's Sacred Heart Academy.[5]
In 1937, she earned her teacher's certificate from the Provincial Normal College, becoming the first Mi'kmaq to do so.[2] After obtaining her teaching license, she attempted to apply for a teaching job at Inverness County. After a meeting, the county school inspector asked her to go home, noting that members of the community would oppose having a Mi’kmaq teaching their children.[5] By 1939, she was employed at the Indian Day School, a newly opened school for Mi’kmaq children in Indian Brook.[5][2]
At Indian Brook, Basque met her husband Isaac, a farmer. They got married and had four children.
When Basque transferred to a school in Cape Breton Island, she became the first Aboriginal person to teach in a non-Native school.[6] In 1951, Basque relocated to Boston, Massachusetts and lived there with her family for almost 30 years. Her husband was employed at Algonquin Gas Transmission Company while she did public relations work.[7] When her children were old enough, Basque returned to teaching and worked for the Boston Indian Council.[4] She lectured on topics that include Indian elderly, Mi'kmaq culture, and the status of American Indian people.[8] She was active in promoting Indian rights. A paper that she wrote detailing the problems of the native American elderly was sent to the U.S. Senate as a position paper.[4]
Basque was selected as a member of the Order of Canada on November 4, 2009, for her pioneering work as an educator and for advocating the works of seniors and aboriginal people.[5] She was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2005 by the Universite Sainte-Anne.[8]
Basque died on April 11, 2016, at her home in Hectanooga.[9]