Sam Gargan, one of the longest-serving MLAs in the NWT, passed away on Thursday at the age of 77 after suffering a short illness.
Gargan served at many levels of government throughout his career, including as an MLA for the Dehcho, chief of the Deh Gáh Got’îê First Nation, grand chief of the Dehcho First Nations, and mayor of Fort Providence.
He was first elected as an MLA in 1983 and was chosen as the legislature’s speaker in 1995. In all, he was an MLA for 16 years.
He is remembered as a musical, meticulous man with a cheeky sense of humour, who knew how to rouse a crowd.
Tom Beaulieu worked with Gargan while he was an MLA, when Beaulieu was the director of Housing NWT’s South Slave region.
Instead of going through the housing minister, Beaulieu said, Gargan would find ways to meet with the people actually implementing government policies.
“I got to see him at least once a month with his [note]book and sit down and go through the issues he had with housing,” said Beaulieu.
“He continued more of that style of a face-to-face approach to bringing the issue directly to people that could react to it immediately.”
‘He had the whole crowd’
Dehcho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian said he first met Gargan in residential school at Lapointe Hall in Fort Simpson.
Norwegian, who was a few years younger, remembered a talent night at which hundreds of students watched Gargan perform, with his flat-top guitar, the song Amen from the 1963 Sidney Poitier movie Lilies of the Field.
“He had the whole crowd,” said Norwegian. “He had the whole community hall just sing that song, ‘amen, amen, amen’ – he was just bellowing it out.”
Norwegian said he and Gargan crossed paths many times in their work, including when Gargan worked with Hire North, the body building a highway to Wrigley and Fort Liard.
They worked together again at the Dene Nation, when Norwegian was vice-president and Gargan worked as a health counsellor.
“He got involved in doing social programming and anything to do with social development,” said Norwegian.
He said Gargan also worked as an assistant negotiator in the Dehcho Process before eventually becoming grand chief, playing an important role in drafting the Dehcho Constitution.
“We’re moving forward with a constitution for the entire Dehcho territory – a way that we’re going to govern ourselves – and he was very meticulous about putting bits and pieces into the constitution that he thought would have to be part of it,” said Norwegian.
Until the end of his life, Norwegian said, Gargan was travelling the country, speaking with anyone who would listen about the watersheds that enter the region, and advocating for the tributaries’ health.
In a statement, current Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakeleya said Gargan was a mentor and inspiration to many.
“His words carried weight because they came from a place of deep care for the land and for the people,” Yakeleya stated. “He often reminded us to ask: Who will protect the people, the animals, the water, and the land?”
On top of a busy and accomplished career, Gargan had five children with his wife, Alphonsine, as well as two granddaughters.
His niece, Jacqueline Elleze-Squirrel, said Gargan was always happy to see her daughters and he would often sing to them and play guitar.
She said he had an extensive CD collection with his favourite song being Bobby Bare’s tune, Detroit City, which he sang constantly.
Elleze-Squirrel said even though he never missed a meeting in the Dehcho, he would still find time to reconnect with nature at a nearby fish camp, where he would sing songs and tell stories.
“He always had something cheeky to say to us,” she said.
