Ronald Derrickson facts for kids

Ronald M. Derrickson is an important Indigenous leader from British Columbia, Canada. He has been elected chief of the Westbank Indian Band six times. In 2012, he was given the special title of Grand Chief by the Union of BC Indian Chiefs. He is also a very successful Indigenous businessman in Canada. He won an award for his work in business and trade.

Ronald Derrickson has written two award-winning books with Arthur Manuel. These books are Unsettling Canada: A National Wake-up Call and Reconciliation Manifesto. His own story, Fight or Submit: Standing Tall in Two Worlds, was published in 2020. He is also the father of singer and songwriter Kelly Derrickson.

His Early Life

Ronald Derrickson was born on October 6, 1941. His birthplace was the Westbank Indian Reserve in British Columbia. His parents were Ted Derrickson and Margaret Schoven. When he was young, he worked in different jobs. He picked fruit, worked as a welder, and was a rancher. In 1976, he was first elected as the chief of the Westbank band.

Leading the Westbank Band

For ten years, Ronald Derrickson helped his band grow a lot. The Westbank Indian Band became one of the richest bands in British Columbia. Before his leadership, it was one of the poorest.

He became chief again in 1998. This time, he did something new. He led his people in a logging project on their own traditional lands. They used a permit from their Indigenous community, not from the province. This action inspired other Indigenous groups in British Columbia to do similar logging projects.

In 1986, the government looked into Ronald Derrickson's time as chief. This was called the Hall Commission. The review found that he had not done anything wrong.

A Grand Chief and Author

In 2012, the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs named Ronald Derrickson a Grand Chief. This was to honor his many years of leadership in politics and business.

His books, co-written with Arthur Manuel, have won awards.

• Unsettling Canada: A National Wake-up Call (published in 2015) won the Aboriginal Prize in Canadian History in 2016.
• Reconciliation Manifesto (published in 2017) won the B.C. Book Prize for Non-fiction in 2018.

His newest book, Fight or Submit: Standing Tall in Two Worlds, was a finalist for the Indies Award. This award is for books in the Autobiography and Memoir category.