Nan McKay

Annie Maude "Nan" McKay (October 10, 1892 – July 27, 1986) was a Métis librarian. In 1915, she became the first Indigenous woman to graduate the University of Saskatchewan. McKay worked as a librarian at the university for 44 years.

Early life and education

Annie Maude McKay was born into a prominent English Métis family on October 10, 1892, at Fort à la Corne. Her father, Angus McKay (born 1858), worked for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), which had a trading post at Fort à la Corne. Nan's mother died in 1907 following an operation for appendicitis; her father remarried in 1910. She was the staff artist of The Sheaf, the school's student-run newspaper.

Career at the University of Saskatchewan

Shortly after her graduation in 1915, McKay was hired into a temporary position as assistant librarian at the University of Saskatchewan Library.

In 2007, she was named one of the University of Saskatchewan's "100 Alumni of Influence." As part of the university's centennial commemorations, a photo collection was reviewed and a 1915 photo of McKay and fellow student Hope Weir embracing and kissing was discovered. The photo of McKay and Weir became the cover for Korinek's award-winning 2018 book Prairie Fairies: A History of Queer Communities and People in Western Canada, 1930-1985.