Elmer Jamieson | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Elmer Jamieson

Elmer Jamieson, educator (born 30 August 1891 on the Six Nations of the Grand River, ON; died 18 April 1972 in Toronto, ON). Elmer Jamieson was a Kanyen’keha:ka member of the military, veteran of the First World War and later became an educator.

Career

Elmer Jamieson received his BA from McMaster University in 1913. He enlisted in the army during the First World War. As a result of censorship measures, Jamieson used Kanyen’kéha (Mohawk language) to write letters home. When censors could not "crack his code," he was called in to reveal its secrets. With his fellow Kanyen’kehà:ka (Mohawk), he set up the first Indigenous communications network, an idea adopted by the US Army in the Second World War. After the war, he completed an MA at McMaster University in 1922. In 1928, he completed a doctorate in pedagogy at the University of Toronto. He was head of the chemistry and biology department at North Toronto Collegiate from 1922 to 1957.