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WINNIPEG, MAN - Leo Jackson has had the picture for 35 years.

"I just don't know what to do with the darned thing," he said, from his home in Winnipeg, Man.

Leo Jackson holds a picture of Chief Jimmy Bruneau that he has had for more than 35 years. Jackson contacted News/North to see what kind of interest there was for the photo in the North. - photo courtesy of Leo Jackson

On his way back into the city, sometime in 1973 or 1974 - he can't remember - he stopped in at a little second hand shop on the outskirts of Winnipeg on a whim and a picture of an elderly man caught his eye.

"The store owner said 'are you buying it for the frame?' I said, 'no, I like the picture.'"

The figure that drew his attention was that of the famous Tlicho Chief Jimmy Bruneau.

"It was a real classy black and white photo," said Jackson.

"The picture showed the chief had character and it's not too often people lived to be his age."

In the photo, Bruneau looks pensive, with a pipe in his open mouth.

He said he marvelled at the intricate detail of the skin around the Bruneau's chin and his high cheekbones.

"It shows his bottom front teeth - the six of them on the front," he said.

Jackson is not a collector of photography.

"It's one of the rare ones that I have that isn't a relative," he laughed, adding the photo was in fairly good condition, if mildly stained.

He has had the 6"x9" photo ever since, and despite moving homes and moving along in life, he's never been able to give it away.

After recently purchasing a computer, his curiosity was piqued and he looked up Chief Jimmy Bruneau on the Internet.

Chief Jimmy Bruneau was born in 1881 and became chief in 1936.

A school now stands in Behchoko with the visionary leader's name, as Bruneau was a tireless proponent of education, relentlessly pushing the government of Canada to establish a school in his region.

When the school opened, he was quoted as saying: "I have asked for a school to built... on my land... and that school will be run by my people, and my people will work at that school and our children will learn both ways: our way and the white man's way," according to the Tlicho government website.

Bruneau died in 1975.

"I've wondered what to do with this for so many years and I couldn't bear to part with it," he said.

"I was wondering if there are people or places that buy things like this, or museums that would be interested in things like this," he said.

Renowned Northern photographer and historian Rene Fumoleau said there was definitely an interest in photographs of the chief.

"That's wonderful," he said.

Fumoleau, who has documented the North for more than 55 years, said in his experience, the territorial archives were the best place to donate photos.

"They take very good care of all the documents they get," he said.

"I gave them all my documents, so I trust them," he laughed.

Fumoleau said he hadn't taken very many pictures of Chief Jimmy Bruneau, as he lived in Deline and Fort Good Hope during the later stages of Bruneau's life.

He did, however, get pictures of the chief's funeral.

"That was quite the celebration," he said.

"He was a very, very famous man."

Richard Valpy, territorial archivist, said the NWT Archives, which strives to provide an accurate history of the people and organizations that have operated in the North, always encourages donations to its collection.

"We get people offering photos to us daily," he said.

"Yesterday, I got 44 photos from a former miner," he said.

He said the man - now in his 80s - was 20 at the time he snapped the shots while working at the Thompson-Lundmark gold mine in the early 1940s near Yellowknife.

Valpy said when someone is interested in making a donation, they will get in touch with him and explain what they have.

"If it has anything to do with our mandate - the history of the Northwest Territories - I would ask if they can send it on to us and we'll have a look at it," he said.

"Then, we'd judge whether it becomes part of our collection."

"If it is, then we take the next steps in acquiring it."

He said there are some hurdles in taking in items.

For instance, if the photo was stamped with the photographers' name, copyright issues could interfere with the inclusion, or the territorial archive - or the national Library and Archives Canada - could already have the photo.

When a document is accepted sometimes it isn't catalogued and made available for public display immediately, due to a considerable backlog.

"We have a quarter of a million photographs in our archives," said Valpy.

"We've only catalogued and put on line about 50,000 or 60,000."

Once catalogued, the photos are viewable through public exhibitions or online at the newly updated Prince of Wales Heritage Centre website.

As for Jackson's photo of the Chief: was the archives interested in acquiring it?

"Not in this particular case, given how well known it is," said Valpy.

Turns out, Jackson's picture of Bruneau is one of the most iconic and widely circulated portraits of the chief, and is even displayed in the Behchoko school bearing his name.

"He's got a good eye," said Valpy, who added the archives always encourage people to contact them when they have an item that may interest them.

"I don't want to discourage people from offering items," he said.

"His pursuit of this is coming from the right place," said Shawn McCann, manager of public affairs with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment.

"Maybe he can try the Antiques Road Show," she joked.

Jackson didn't seem too crushed with the news.

"I'll hang onto it," said Jackson.

"I've had it this long."