Dr. Kenneth Atsenhaienton Deer
Dr. Deer has been active in promoting and defending the rights of Indigenous Peoples in the UN system for over thirty years. He participated in the Working Group on Indige-nous Populations, which drafted the original text of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and in the Working Group on the Draft Declaration, which elabo-rated and edited the Declaration prior to its adoption by the UN General Assembly in 2007.
He contributed to the debate about the rights in the Declaration and organized the Indig-enous Peoples Preparatory Meetings which were important for Indigenous representa-tives to prepare and strategize for meetings with States.
He has advocated for Indigenous Peoples in many international world conferences such as Racism, Sustainable Development, the Information Society, Climate Change and oth-er conferences.
He continues to be engaged at the UN in the role of Chief Executive Officer of Indige-nous World Association, an NGO that has consultative status with the United Nations.
He is also a member of the Haudenosaunee External Relations Committee and Secretary of the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake.
He was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples by Secretary Ban Ki Moon from 2008 to 2014.
He was the founder and Publisher/Editor of the Eastern Door Newspaper, an award win-ning weekly newspaper from 1992 to 2008 serving the community of Kahnawake.
He is a former High School Councillor and High School Principal and advocated for In-digenous Peoples control over their own education.
He is one of the founders of the First Nations Education Council in Quebec.
He was active in his community serving on many Boards of Directors such as the Kahnawake Boys and Girls Club (Now the Kahnawake Youth Center), the Kahnawake Cultural Center, the K103 Mohawk Radio, and was the founder of the Onake Paddling Club, the only Indigenous flatware racing canoe/kayak club in Canada.
He received a National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Media and Communications in 2010.
In 2015 he received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Concordia University for his lifetime achievement.
