Allan Adam will sit as a trustee with the Canadian Museum of Nature. (Allan Adam/Facebook)

By Derek Cornet

Federal Appointment

Former chief appointed to Canadian Museum of Nature board of trustees

Apr 2, 2019 | 11:00 AM

Allan Adam, a former chief of the Fond du Lac Denesuline First Nation, has been appointed by the federal government as a trustee with the Canadian Museum of Nature.

The appointment was announced last week by Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism Minister Pablo Rodriguez, who stated he’s confident Adam will use his expertise and knowledge to provide forward-thinking leadership at the museum. Adam, who also currently sits on the board of governors with both the University of Saskatchewan and First Nations University of Canada, stated it will give him a good chance to bring ideas forward and learn how the museum works.

“I put my name into a federal registry for people who are interested in sitting on various boards or government appoints that could be available,” he said. “I put my name on this list about a year ago and low and behold, just before Christmas, I get a call from the government asking me to come to Ottawa for an interview. I guess I did a good enough job in the interview because there was interest in me possibly advancing further and they asked me if I wanted my name to stand for one of the positions.”

Adam brings with him to the role decades of experience in communications as a broadcaster, media spokesperson, translator, writer, negotiator and facilitator. He’s also currently the CEO of Dene Hha Communications and is an Elder Spiritual Advisor and counsellor at the Saskatchewan Federal Penitentiary near Prince Albert. He also formerly served as a Dene language university lecturer at the Northern Teacher Education Program in La Ronge.

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While Adam still has a lot to learn about the museum, he noted orientation will be held April 5 and he should know more about his duties after that. But, he expects sitting as a trustee will include overseeing budgets, plans and general ongoings at the museum, as well as assisting in any way he can. As an Indigenous person, he stated it’s important the board hears his point of view because he can bring life-learned perspectives to the organization.

“When I did the interview back in December, I told them museums are very important to look at what could have been by preserving it,” Adam said. “I would much rather see something alive and in life rather than to see it preserved in a museum.”

The Canadian Museum of Nature is located in Ottawa and is designated as a National Historic Site. The museum has four main collections in botany, mineralogy, paleontology and zoology, which contains about 14.6 million specimens.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno