In 1937, Ralph Steinhauer was diagnosed with tuberculosis and a decision was made to send the three eldest children to a residential school.
During the Great Depression Steinhauer supplemented his farming work with other labour such as logging and cutting fence posts.
[3] When Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau asked him to be the lieutenant governor of Alberta, he responded, "I'm not schooled for a thing like this... You're plucking a person out of the farmyard and an Indian at that.
[1][2] On the advice of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Ralph Steinhauer was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Alberta effective July 2, 1974.
"[citation needed] Steinhauer was known for voicing his personal opinions regarding Indigenous issues in Canada while holding the generally apolitical role as Lieutenant Governor.
In 1977, during the opening of the third session of the 18th Alberta Legislature Steinhauer read the speech from the throne while dressed in the full regalia of a Cree chief, and on one his final days in the Legislature, Steinhauer while giving royal assent to legislation reflected on his time as Lieutenant Governor and in thanking the members of the assembly remarked "May the Great Spirit remain with you, and will you always carry on such a well-done job",[citation needed] becoming the first time the Great Spirit had been invoked in the provincial legislature.
In a 1976 speech delivered at the University of Calgary, Steinhauer presented a list of injustices inflicted upon Indigenous peoples, and going so far as to suggest he might withhold royal assent for legislation affecting First Nations until there was some improvement.
[citation needed] However, the governor general and federal government wanted assurances that the visit to England would not be a political event, and Steinhauer agreed to ensure the occasion's apolitical nature.
[7] The Ralph Steinhauer Award of Distinction, a collegiate scholarship provided by the Government of Alberta, recognizes academic achievement.