Just read the obituary of Edmond Joly-de-Lotbiniere.* Now here was a real "native" Canadian. The de Lotbiniere's were granted one of the first seigneuries in Canada, whereby immigrant French nobility were allotted huge tracts of land running up from the St. Lawrence river into what is now Quebec (then Lower Canada). This seigneury was given to Rene-Louis Chartier de Lotbiniere in 1672 by Jean Talon, the Intendant of King Louis XIV, and remained in the family until 1967, at which time it was acquired by the Quebec government.
Edmond served in the Royal Canadian Navy, various Canadian embassies, GGs Vincent Massey, Georges Vanier, Jules Leger and Ed Schreyer. He was also, by the way, appointed "Extraordinary Gentleman Usher", by command of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
I went to school with Suzanne de Lotbiniere-Panet, a lovely girl with a charmingly shy smile who married a very boring , but prominent, Ottawa lawyer.**
So, to all pretentious indigenous Canadians I say, "get real".
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* Sorry, can't find the accent keys on my computer.
** Once asked "TM" to dance at a golf club Christmas party in Ottawa. He didn't even stand up as I approached their table. "How rude," I muttered as I walked away to the eternal mortification of Suzanne.
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