For 11 months Calvin White worked for Doctors Without Borders as a mental health specialist in the off-the-radar region of Karakalpakstan in western Uzbekistan. Unlike the higher profile emergency situations which draw that international humanitarian organization's attention, the milieu for White's mission was the quiet, slow death in an epidemic of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. As White's forward says: "This is a small story about small people written by a small person so maybe there is no interest in it. On the other hand, since most of us on the planet are also small, maybe there is." White takes the reader inside the daily heartbeat of humans we've never heard of but come to see as sharing the same pulse. It is a remarkable journey of intimacy and hope, one that reconfigures our understanding of sadness and, ultimately, reaffirms the common spirit of humanity.

Mi’kmaw, born and raised in Flat Bay, N.L., Calvin White is one of the founders of the Aboriginal revival in Newfoundland and Labrador. In the 1960s, he helped organize Aboriginal families in the province, including those in Conne River and Labrador, to form the Native Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, which later became the Federation of Newfoundland Indians (FNI).

A former chief of the Flat Bay band and president of the FNI, has also served on many national boards, including the Native Council of Canada, the National Indian Brotherhood, the Aboriginal Liberal Commission, and the National Council of Welfare. He is one of the original petitioners in the 1989 legal action brought by the FNI against the federal government, which eventually resulted in the agreement to form the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation.

Elder White received the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada in 1993, Lifetime Achievement Award from Ulnooweg Development Group, for his long-time commitment to business and business development in 2008. The Order of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2015. Elder White was awarded a Human Rights Champion Award in July of 2016; an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree on Thursday, May 18, from Memorial University, and in July of 2017 he also received the Canada 150 Sesquicentennial Pin. On December 17th, 2017, the Governor General of Canada invested Calvin into the honourable award The Order of Canada for his pivotal role in achieving recognition for Newfoundland Mi’kmaq and his longstanding commitment to the rights of his people.

An Elder and cultural mentor to his community and to Mi’kmaq across the province, he strives to preserve and celebrate their unique identity.

Calvin White's profile page