James K. Bartleman
A member of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation, the Honourable James K. Bartleman was born in Orillia, grew up in the Muskoka village of Port Carling, attended the local continuation school and London Central Collegiate and graduated from The University of Western Ontario in Honours History in 1963. From 2002 to 2007, he served as Ontario’s first Indigenous lieutenant governor, launching four Indigenous literacy initiatives; establishing libraries on First Nations throughout the north of the province; creating a book club for 5000 children in fly-in First Nations, summer reading camps for Indigenous children in northern Ontario (in a program expanded by Frontier College to now include 120 First Nations with 9,000 campers across Canada) and literary awards for Indigenous children and youth.
Before his appointment as Ontario’s Vice-Regal Representative, Mr. Bartleman served as ambassador to the Cuba, Israel, NATO and the European Union, high commissioner to South Africa and Australia and foreign and defence policy adviser to the prime minister. He holds sixteen honorary degrees and is the recipient of the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, the Phi Delta Kappa Educator of the Year Award, the Arthur Kroeger College Award in Ethics in Public Affairs, the Courage to Come Back award and the National Child Day Award from the Canadian Institute of Child Health. Mr. Bartleman is an officer of the Order of Canada, a member of the Order of Ontario and the author of nine books.
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