Rodney Bobiwash

Alan Rodney Bobiwash (1959–2002) was an Anishinaabe First-Nations activist and scholar for Indigenous histories, racial equality, and social justice. He taught at the University of Manitoba, Trent University, and the University of Toronto. At the University of Toronto, he also directed First Nations House and Aboriginal Student Services (1994–97), paving the way for expanded First Nations student support in education.

Bobiwash was deeply involved in the anti-racist movement. He was instrumental in launching a Canadian Human Rights Commission case against the far-right organisation Heritage Front, which contributed significantly to its eventual demise. He also founded Klan Busters hotline to monitor and prevent white supremacist activity in Toronto.

Bobiwash's work on Indigenous self-government and relations spanned a broad range of constituencies across borders. Locally, he provided consultation and resources in support of urban Indigenous self-government and institutional relations. Internationally, he frequently represented and mediated on behalf of various Indigenous and anti-racist communities, at forums including the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation. In the late 1990s, he directed the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto as well as the Forum for Global Exchange and the Biocultural Security Directorate at the Centre for World Indigenous Studies.

His legacies include the Toronto Native Community History Project (now First Story Toronto) and its highlight, the "Great Indian Bus Tour" (now First Story Toronto Tours). The Project was started alongside Heather Howard at the Native Canadian Centre in 1995, and acted "to preserve and promote the history of Aboriginal people in the Toronto area" and "to teach and share in the spirit of friendship, and with the goal of eliminating racism and prejudice".