A portrait of Chancellor Emeritus and former Senator Mazina Giizhik Murray Sinclair by artist Kent Monkman was unveiled at Queen’s this week, marking a significant moment of recognition and reflection for the university community. The unveiling took place in Grant Hall as part of the inaugural Chancellor Emeritus Murray Sinclair Commemorative Lecture, an event that brought together students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members in-person and online to honour Sinclair’s enduring legacy.

Painted by Kent Monkman, the acrylic-on-canvas portrait The Honourable Senator Emeritus Murray Sinclair situates Sinclair within Monkman’s distinctive visual language, blending contemporary portraiture with historical and cultural reference. Monkman was suggested as the artist to the university by Sinclair himself, while Sinclair was simultaneously at the top of Monkman’s list of subjects for his ongoing Shining Stars portrait series.  

Although he was unable to attend the unveiling, Monkman sent greetings and shared his admiration for Senator Sinclair, whom he has long regarded as one of his heroes.

“I have held so much respect and admiration for the late Chancellor Emeritus, Senator Sinclair, one of my personal heroes,” Monkman remarked during his honorary degree ceremony in fall 2024. “Murray moved the needle forward for Indigenous peoples in this country. The immense scope of his work has literally changed this nation.”

The work will ultimately hang in 340 Richardson Hall, with the other Queen’s Chancellor paintings.

The portrait unveiling followed the inaugural Chancellor Emeritus Murray Sinclair Commemorative Lecture, established to honour his contributions to the university. He passed away on November 4, 2024, in Winnipeg at the age of 73.  

“Murray’s time here at Queen’s was marked by a deep commitment to dialogue, sometimes very difficult conversations, for understanding and positive change for our university, which all begins with listening,” host Chancellor Shelagh Rogers reflected in her welcome. “As an honorary witness to the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which Murray Sinclair chaired, I watched in action one of the greatest listeners this country has ever known. Murray was my listening idol. He took the thousands of statements he heard from residential school survivors and their families into his heart, his mind, his soul, and his actions. He acted with great humanity.”

The establishment of the Chancellor Emeritus Murray Sinclair Commemorative Lecture affirms Queen’s ongoing commitment to truth and reconciliation and to the role of universities as spaces for thoughtful, inclusive dialogue and difficult conversations held with respect and care.

Principal Patrick Deane, who conceived the idea for the lecture series, described Sinclair as both courageous and compassionate, grounded in truth and animated by a belief in the possibility of understanding and change.  

“The idea being every year to feature a speaker who could help advance the conversation of which Murray was a participant and an instigator and to make sure that those conversations could always continue,” said Principal Patrick Deane in his remarks. “Lectures on critical issues related to truth, to reconciliation and Indigeneity, of course, but also lectures that might help us continue, extend, and further explore the generous, good humoured, and yet uncompromising humanity that was Murray Sinclair's gift to us all.”

Sinclair’s son, Niigaan Sinclair, an Anishinaabe writer, editor, professor, and activist based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, spoke next, offering a deeply personal reflection on his father’s legacy and who he was beyond his public roles.

“One of the most important things for me is that you know that the TRC was not dad's proudest moment. It was not his most important moment,” Niigaan began. “While it is the most public profile, his proudest thing is probably being an Anishinaabe. That's probably by far his most important thing in his life and his lifelong journey that he took to understand ultimately who he is.”

Niigaan’s remarks traced Murray Sinclair’s upbringing and highlighted many lesser-known moments from his life, such as wanting a bicycle as a child but receiving encyclopedias instead, being a notoriously terrible bingo caller, and falling asleep to AC/DC’s Back in Black. Together, these stories offered a privileged glimpse into the life of a man who was so much more than just his accomplishments in the public service.

“He truly believed that if he just if we just spent enough time together, if we just learned from one another, if we just believed in one another, and stood with one another, and got each other's back, especially when we don't agree, that we can do anything,” Niigaan concluded.

The second keynote by Dr. Danielle Lussier, Red River Métis and a citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation, who currently serves as Queen’s National Scholar and Chair in Indigenous Knowledges and Perspectives at Queen’s, included a series of reflections on her talk writing process, truth telling, and the costs for Indigenous people, especially women, of rising to calls of actions.  

Reflecting on Murray Sinclair’s later writings and Niigaan Sinclair’s remarks earlier in the program, Lussier pointed to the ongoing and disproportionate burden placed on Indigenous people in efforts to reform systems that continue to cause harm. She emphasized the personal and collective cost of this work, and the responsibility of institutions and allies to share it.

Lussier framed her remarks around responsibility, privilege, and action, describing leadership as an obligation to those who come next. “I consider it to be a responsibility to use every ounce of privilege I have to kick open the door for the kids coming behind me,” she said.

She concluded with a call to action for the Queen’s community. “Nurture us. Respect us. Give us the space and the resources we need to lead,” she said, urging participants to commit to learning publicly, owning mistakes, and supporting Indigenous leadership. “Help us kick in the door and then hold it open.”

As the program concluded with the unveiling, Host Chancellor Rogers framed the lecture and painting as lasting expressions of the university’s responsibility to carry forward the values that defined his life’s work.

Watch the inaugural Chancellor Emeritus Murray Sinclair Commemorative Lecture and Portrait Unveiling on the Principal’s YouTube channel.