Chief Ghislain Picard named Chair of the McCord Stewart Museum’s Board of Trustees

The McCord Stewart Museum is pleased to announce the appointment of Ghislain Picard, Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL), as Chair of its Board of Trustees, effective June 1. The first Indigenous person to hold this position, he succeeds Monique Jérôme-Forget, who has served as Chair for almost eleven years and will continue her involvement with the Museum as Honorary Chair.

“I cannot think of a better candidate to take over as Chair of the Board of Trustees as the Museum pursues its decolonization efforts and aims to help strengthen the voices of First Nations communities in both its programming and the institution itself. I am certain that Chief Picard’s many skills and extensive experience will be a tremendous asset in ensuring the Museum’s ongoing development,” noted Monique Jérôme-Forget, outgoing Chair of the Museum’s Board of Trustees.

“I am honoured by the trust placed in me by the Board of Trustees of the McCord Stewart Museum, a unique institution with an exceptional Indigenous Cultures collection. I look forward to supporting the evolution of the Museum and the completion of its many projects. Now, more than ever, it is essential for social history museums to act collaboratively and build trust-based relationships with all the communities that make up our society, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike. The McCord Stewart Museum is already known for its work in this area. I share its vision and hope to see it spread even further within the institution and beyond its walls,” continued Chief Picard.

An Innu from the North Shore community of Pessamit, Ghislain Picard is a well-known Indigenous activist. While devoting most of his time to the field of communications from 1976 to 1989, he also became President of the Quebec Native Friendship Centre in the early 1980s. In 1992, he was elected Regional Chief of the AFNQL, making him the spokesperson for the 43 chiefs in this region of Canada. He was named a Knight of the National Order of Quebec in 2003 and a Knight of the Legion of Honour by the Consul General of France in 2005. In 2017, the City of Montreal made him an honorary citizen.