A widely respected Indigenous leader and activist from the Secwepemc Nation has died. Arthur Manuel was 66-years-old.

The son of the late George Manuel, who founded the National Indian Brotherhood — precursor to the Assembly of First Nations — Arthur Manuel entered the world of Indigenous politics in the 1970s, as president of the Native Youth Association.

He went on to serve as chief of the Neskonlith Indian Band near Chase, B.C., and elected chair of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council but was also active in the Assembly of First Nations. Recently, he was a spokesman for Defenders of the Land, an organization dedicated to environmental justice.

Manuel was the author of Unsettling Canada: A National Wake Up Call, Between the Lines which he co-wrote with Grand Chief Ron Derrickson and was also known internationally, having advocated for Indigenous rights and struggles at the United Nations, The Hague and the World Trade Organization.