Norman Saylor (Mohawk)

1906-1960

A pioneering legal career

Norman Henry Saylor (1906-1960) was a Mohawk lawyer associated with Kahnawake, Quebec, and the Montreal legal profession. Born on the Kahnawake reserve in Quebec in September 1906, he died in August 1960 in Montreal at the age of 53. Saylor belonged to an early generation of Indigenous Canadians who obtained university qualifications and entered professional practice. His principal academic accomplishment was a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the Université de Montréal in 1932. He was the first Indigenous Canadian to graduate from that university, the second Indigenous Canadian to earn an LLB from a Canadian university, and the second university-trained Indigenous lawyer in Canada. 1

Saylor’s importance extends beyond his educational qualifications and graduation. A historical newspaper clipping places him in Quebec’s Superior Court and associates him professionally with an established Montreal law firm. Later accounts record his appointment as King’s Counsel in 1947. Separately a published collection of a missionary’s recollections preserve a glimpse of his participation in Kahnawake’s public ceremonial life. Together, these records describe a lawyer whose career connected university education, professional recognition, and Indigenous community involvement. [2–4]

Community and family

A newspaper clipping 2 identifies Saylor as being from Caughnawaga, the historical spelling used in its account of the Mohawk community now known as Kahnawake in Quebec. Its report of litigation involving two people from the same community places Saylor’s early courtroom work within a local social setting, rather than documenting his education alone. It also identifies him publicly as an Indigenous member of Quebec’s legal profession. 2

A later family notice 5 provides another connection to Kahnawake. The obituary of Inez Saylor Morris (his sister), published in Montreal’s Gazette on November 10, 1998, lists Norman among her deceased brothers, together with Lester, Clarence, and Earl. This death notice establishes a family connection between Norman and his sister, although the notice supplies little information about Norman’s own childhood or household. 5

Relatively little material exists in the public record about Norman Saylor and it is difficult to establish the schools he attended before university, his university entrance date, or the circumstances that shaped his choice of law. A detailed account of his upbringing therefore remains beyond the evidence available here.

University education and academic distinctions

Saylor completed his LLB at the Université de Montréal in 1932. The degree was a professional academic qualification in law and formed the educational foundation of his subsequent legal career. 1

The three educational and profession distinctions describe related but separate accomplishments: graduation from a particular university, the chronological place of his law degree among Indigenous Canadian graduates, and his place among university-trained Indigenous lawyers. Their wording matters. The designation “second university-trained Indigenous lawyer” concerns his university education; it should not imply that that there was only one Indigenous person who had practised law before him. 1

His graduation also deserves recognition as an achievement in its own right. It placed a Mohawk graduate within a major Quebec university and provided a route into a profession in which Indigenous participation was still unusual.

Admission to practice and work in Montreal

Saylor entered Quebec’s legal profession in the 1930s. The historical list maintained by Indigenous Lawyer History gives his bar-admission year as 1933. 4 However, the reproduced French-language newspaper caption appears to give January 1935. Because these sources differ, neither date is treated here as conclusively established. This discrepancy concerns admission to practice and does not alter the 1932 graduation date. 1, 2, 4

The newspaper clipping 2 reports that he argued his first case in the Superior Court in January preceding its publication. Both his client and the opposing party were described as people from Caughnawaga. The account therefore documents an early instance of Saylor representing someone from his own community in a provincial court. It does not identify the parties, the subject of the dispute, or the result. 2

The same clipping names him as a professional associate of Crankshaw, Crankshaw, Gaboury and Almond. However, its wording alone does not establish an equity partnership or define his responsibilities within the firm. 2

His place in the city’s professional life is also reflected in Leslie Smith’s essay “Learning for Earning,” included in the government-distributed booklet The Indian in Transition. Smith names Saylor as a Montreal lawyer among examples of Indigenous Canadians working in professional occupations. The booklet, catalogued as approximately 1961 and noting that its essays were originally published in 1960, shows that his career had become part of a wider discussion of Indigenous education and employment. 6

Professional recognition

Indigenous Lawyer History records Saylor’s appointment as King’s Counsel in 1947 and identifies him as the first Iroquois person to receive that distinction. The same account notes that he was a Queen’s Counsel at the time of his death in 1960. 4

Community participation and the limits of attribution

An especially vivid recollection comes from Father Martial Caron, a Jesuit who arrived in Caughnawaga in August 1954 to direct its mixed choir. Writing in Kateri in June 1971 about the years 1954–1961, Caron remembered attorney Norman Saylor as the efficient master of ceremonies at the dedication of a new statue of Kateri. The account places Saylor in a public speaking and ceremonial role within the community. It does not give the ceremony’s exact date or establish a formal office held by him. 3

A separate scholarly reference requires caution. In his study of Andrew Paull, historian Brendan F. R. Edwards reproduces the substance of a June 1947 letter in which Paull referred to a lawyer named Norman Saylor as a colleague in connection with the parliamentary Indian Act committee. Edwards explicitly warns that Paull may have meant Norman Lickers. Consequently, the letter cannot securely establish that Saylor appeared before that committee, and such an appearance is not included among his accomplishments here. 7

Death and historical legacy

Saylor died in August 1960. His enduring significance rests on a documented progression from a pioneering university qualification to legal practice, professional distinction, and participation in Kahnawake’s communal life. His 1932 LLB and the academic distinctions remain the central accomplishments of this biography. The courtroom clipping, the account of his King’s Counsel appointment, and Caron’s recollection add substance to that educational record: Saylor became a practising lawyer and a recognizable public figure, rather than remaining only a name in a list of early graduates. [1–4]

Saylor holds an important place in Indigenous Canadian educational and legal history, however his contributions still require further archival research and documentation.

References

1. Indigenous Canadian Academic Milestones: A Timeline; https://indigenius-canada.wishartlab.com/pioneers/ (accessed 7 October 2026).
2. Premier avocat indien [newspaper photograph and caption; original publication and date unidentified]. Reproduced in: Indigenous Lawyer History. List of Indigenous lawyer firsts [Internet]. [cited 2026 Oct 6]. Available from: https://indigenouslawyerhistory.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/image-28.png
3. Caron M. Father Martial Caron, S.J., looks back on the years 1954–1961. Kateri [Internet]. 1971 Jun [cited 2026 Oct 6];28–33. Available from: https://rd.uqam.ca/Tekakwitha/I/Kateri/1971.06-E088p28-33.pdf
4. Indigenous Lawyer History. List of Indigenous lawyer firsts [Internet]. 2021 Jul 11 [updated 2024 Mar 15; cited 2026 Oct 6]. Available from: https://indigenouslawyerhistory.wordpress.com/2021/07/11/list-of-indigenous-lawyer-firsts/
5. Morris Saylor Inez (nee Saylor), 1920–1998 [death notice]. The Gazette (Montreal). 1998 Nov 10. Reproduced by: Fédération québécoise des sociétés de généalogie [Internet]. [cited 2026 Oct 6]. Available from: https://www.federationgenealogie.qc.ca/avis/577014
6. Smith L. Learning for earning. In: Leechman D, Smith L. The Indian in transition: the meeting of the ways; learning for earning [Internet]. [Ottawa]: Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources; [1961?] [cited 2026 Oct 6]. p. 15–23. Available from: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/aanc-inac/R5-239-1961-eng.pdf
7. Edwards BFR. “I have lots of help behind me, lots of books, to convince you”: Andrew Paull and the value of literacy in English. BC Studies [Internet]. 2009–2010 [cited 2026 Oct 6];(164):7–30. doi:10.14288/bcs.v0i164.275. Available from: https://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/bcstudies/article/view/275