James W. Bourque, (December 17, 1935 - October 19, 1996) was a First Nations activist,[1] who in 1992 became one of the few Canadians ever appointed to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada who had not previously served in an elected political office.[2]
Born in Wandering River, Alberta,[3] Bourque was of Cree and Métis background.[1] At the age of 18 he was elected president of the hunters and trappers association in Fort Chipewyan before working as a park warden in Wood Buffalo National Park from 1955 to 1963.[1]
He served as president of the Métis Association of the Northwest Territories from 1980 to 1982,[4] was deputy minister of renewable resources for the government of the Northwest Territories from 1982 to 1991[5] and chairman of the Northwest Territories' Commission for Constitutional Development.[1]
Bourque was also the founder of the Centre for Traditional Knowledge.
In 1984 he founded the Fur Institute of Canada, serving as its chairman for four years.[1] He was named co-director of policy for the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People in 1994.[6] On July 1, 1992 he was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council.[2]