Len Marchand was born during the depths of the Great Depression to illiterate parents on a reserve in the then remote Okanagan Valley of BC. Len pursued education with single-minded determination. His love of learning earned him a Masters Degree in Forestry, and he was on his way to a Ph.D and a satisfying career as a teacher and a research scientist. But a growing involvement in the North American Indian Brotherhood's fight for full citizenship for his people led into what should have been merely a two-year side-trip into politics. The NAIB prevailed on him to go to Ottawa as the first status Indian special assistant to the federal minister responsible for Indian affairs, a temporary job that segued into more than three decades in public life.