Wab Kinew

Wab Kinew
Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Fort Rouge
Assumed office
April 19, 2016
Preceded by Jennifer Howard
Personal details
Born (1981-12-31) December 31, 1981
Kenora, Ontario
Nationality Canadian
Political party New Democratic
Spouse(s) Lisa Monkman

Wabanakwut (Wab) Kinew (born December 31, 1981)[1] is a Canadian hip hop musician, public speaker, broadcaster, and university administrator, best known as a host of programming on CBC Radio and CBC Television.[2]

Background

Originally from the Onigaming First Nation in Northwestern Ontario, he is the son of Tobasonakwut Kinew,[1] a former local and regional chief and a professor of indigenous governance at the University of Winnipeg, and Kathi Avery Kinew, a policy analyst.[3] Kinew moved to suburban Winnipeg with his parents in childhood and attended Collège Béliveau,[4] a French immersion school, and vacationed in Onigaming in the summers.[3] He graduated from the University of Winnipeg Collegiate[4] which Kinew said in a 2014 interview was "a private high school, one of the best in Winnipeg."[5] Kinew earned a B.A. in economics from the University of Manitoba.[4]

Career

Kinew began working in broadcasting after the Winnipeg Free Press published a letter to the editor which he had written about Team Canada hockey, and a local CBC Radio producer contacted him to express interest in creating and airing a documentary feature on the topic.[1]

Kinew has been a reporter and host for the CBC's radio and television operations,[6] including the weekly arts magazine show The 204 in Winnipeg and the national documentary series 8th Fire in 2012.[2] He is also a host of the documentary program Fault Lines on Al Jazeera America.[7]

In 2014, he appeared as a panelist on CBC Radio's Canada Reads, defending Joseph Boyden's novel The Orenda.[8] The novel won the competition.

Kinew was a guest host of Q for two weeks in December 2014,[9] and moderated the 2015 edition of Canada Reads.[10]

Music

Kinew released his debut CD as a rapper, Live by the Drum, in 2009.[6] The CD won an Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award for Best Rap/Hip-Hop CD.[11] His second CD, Mide-Sun, followed in 2010.[12]

Albums

Year Album details Awards
2009 Live By the Drum
  • Released: January 24, 2009
Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award
2010 Mide-Sun
  • Released: September 4, 2010

University administration

In 2011, the University of Winnipeg named Kinew its first director of indigenous inclusion.[11] In 2014, Kinew was appointed acting associate vice-president of Indigenous Affairs after Jennifer Rattray resigned the position.[1] He is also an honorary witness for the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission.[1]

On October 25, 2014, Kinew received an honorary doctorate degree from Cape Breton University.[13]

Politics

He considered running for the leadership of the Assembly of First Nations in its 2014 leadership election,[14] but decided not to mount a campaign as he was newly married in August and felt it was not the right time to be away from home for an extended period.[1]

In 2016, he was announced as a Manitoba New Democratic Party candidate for Fort Rouge in the 2016 provincial election.[15] During the final days of the campaign, misogynistic and anti-gay tweets and other social media comments were discovered by media on Kinew's Twitter feed. This created a scandal with calls for the New Democratic Party to drop Kinew from the ballots.[16][17]

Writing

Kinew has written two books, a personal memoir and a children's book about notable figures in First Nations history, which were published by Penguin Canada in 2015.[1] The memoir, The Reason You Walk, chronicles the year 2012, during which Kinew strove to reconnect with the aboriginal man who raised him. The Globe & Mail reviewer commented: "the undeniable significance of The Reason You Walk’s message, and the fact that the book holds so much for both aboriginal and non-aboriginal readers, makes it a must-read. This is not just a memoir, it’s a meditation on the purpose of living."

Public speaking

Kinew is a public speaker currently represented by the National Speakers Bureau in Canada and the Global Speakers Agency internationally.[18]

Personal life

Kinew recounts that he "experienced racially motivated assaults by adults" during his time growing up in suburban Winnipeg.[3] In 2003, Kinew received a DUI conviction.[3] Kinew has since quit drinking and is seeking a pardon from the Canadian government to expunge his criminal record.[3] Kinew is married to Lisa Monkman, a family physician who practises medicine at an inner-city clinic,[4] and has two sons from a previous relationship.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Wab Kinew: behind the voice of CBC’s Q guest host". Toronto Star, December 15, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "CBC series 8th Fire aims to dispel native stereotypes". Toronto Star, January 17, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The accidental journalist: Wab Kinew emerges as contender to host Q". The Globe and Mail, December 19, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Kinew might be in queue to host Q: Guest spot last month piqued his interest" Winnipeg Free Press, January 9, 2015.
  5. "Wab Kinew discusses education at Thunder Bay orientation". Wawatay News, September 18, 2014.
  6. 1 2 "Aboriginal rapper, CBC host has plenty to say". Winnipeg Free Press, January 24, 2009.
  7. "Canadian journalists Ali Velshi, Wab Kinew join Al Jazeera America". The Canadian Journalism Project, April 9, 2013.
  8. "Joseph Boyden's novel The Orenda wins CBC's Canada Reads contest". Edmonton Journal, March 6, 2014.
  9. "CBC ponders new name for ‘Q’ in light of Jian Ghomeshi scandal". CityNews, November 12, 2014.
  10. "Canada Reads 2015: One book to break barriers". CBC Books, November 19, 2014.
  11. 1 2 "UWinnipeg names first Director of Indigenous Inclusion". University of Winnipeg, October 4, 2012.
  12. Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water. Portage & Main Press, 2013. ISBN 978-1-55379-307-6. p. 384.
  13. David Akin, "Wab Kinew: “This country is true. This country is strong. This country is free.”". canoe.ca, October 29, 2014.
  14. "Wab Kinew eyes run for Assembly of First Nations chief". CBC News, May 20, 2014.
  15. "Wab Kinew NDP’s candidate in Fort Rouge". Winnipeg Free Press, February 2, 2016.
  16. "The Liberals say Kinew’s social media comments, which surfaced earlier this week, are demeaning to women, gays and lesbians.". The Toronto Star. 2016-03-11. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  17. nurun.com. "Selinger stands by Kinew". Sault Star. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  18. "Wab Kinew | Aboriginal Speaker | National Speakers Bureau". National Speakers Bureau. Retrieved 2015-10-16.

External links

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