Background
Gladstone was a Cree by birth but was adopted by the Blood Reserve on which he was born. The Blood belonged to the Blackfoot nation.
politician Member of the Senate of Canada
Gladstone was a Cree by birth but was adopted by the Blood Reserve on which he was born. The Blood belonged to the Blackfoot nation.
He attended an Anglican Mission school on his reserve until 1903, when he moved to an "Indian Industrial School" in Calgary and apprenticed as a printer, interning at The Calgary Herald.
After leaving school in 1905, Gladstone returned to his reserve where he worked as an interpreter. He also found work on ranches in the area wrangling cattle. In 1911, he found work with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as a scout and interpreter and also worked as a mail carrier on his reserve.
In 1949, Gladstone was elected president of the Indian Association of Alberta and was sent to Ottawa three times to press for improvements to the Indian Acting.
His acceptance by both Blackfoot and Cree assisted him in bringing the different groups together in one political organization. He sat as an "Independent Conservative" until he retired from the Upper House in March 1971.