A look at Wab Kinew's journey to become Manitoba's 1st Anishinaabe premier

Although Wab Kinew continues to reiterate that he's not out to make history for his ethnicity as Manitoba's first Anishinaabe premier, there's no denying that his community and cultural ties will bring something new to the premier's office.

Wabanakwut Kinew, 41, is from Onigaming First Nation in Ontario — part of Treaty 3 territory, which spans parts of northwestern Ontario and southeastern Manitoba. His first name translates to "grey cloud" and his last to "golden eagle" in the Anishinaabe language.

Kinew's major win in Tuesday's provincial election came at a momentous milestone for his home territory, as Manitobans elected their first Anishinaabe premier exactly 150 years after Treaty 3 was signed at the Northwest Angle on Lake of the Woods on Oct. 3, 1873.

"I was given a second chance in life, and I would like to think that I've made good on that opportunity," Kinew said in his Tuesday victory speech.

On Wednesday, Kinew said the election was about fixing health care and rejecting division, repeating a message he sent throughout the campaign that being a First Nations person does not add more load to the premier's role, and that his mission is to serve all Manitobans.

"I didn't run on being the first First Nations premier, I put my name on the ballot to try and be the best premier," he said.

"I don't know how much more weight you could put on somebody. This is the most difficult thing that I've ever done in my life, and the real work hasn't even begun yet."

The story behind Kinew's second chance is detailed in his 2015 memoir, The Reason You Walk, when Kinew was made a sun dance ceremonial chief and given a treaty medal that featured two shaking hands — one Indigenous and one non-Indigenous, signifying the treaty relationship.

"I was surprised by how heavy the medal was in my hands," wrote Kinew.

While he had been primed by his family to pursue a life in leadership, Kinew wrote that he expected that role to come after he had achieved something great.

Instead, his initiation as a sun dance chief came during one of the lowest points of his life, following assault and impaired driving convictions in the early 2000s, which he later received pardons for.

The book did not mention two domestic assault charges Kinew had faced in 2003 involving his girlfriend at the time. Those charges were stayed several months later and Kinew has consistently denied that he ever assaulted his former girlfriend.

In 2017, CBC News also discovered discrepancies between the book's account of Kinew's 2004 assault on a Winnipeg taxi driver and court records. Kinew responded by saying that he was wrong and had taken responsibility.

In the memoir, Kinew did apologize for his past behaviour, including misogynistic rap lyrics, saying he was a troubled young person dealing with unresolved intergenerational trauma.