IKAAHUK/SACHS HARBOUR - Sachs Harbour elder Andy Carpenter, a well-respected Inuvialuit environmental advocate, died Feb. 17 at the age of 75.

Andy Carpenter Sr., a longtime environmental advocate from Sachs Harbour, died Feb. 17. - photo courtesy of Norm Snow

The community of Sachs Harbour, including his friends and colleagues from the Hunters and Trappers Committee, the Inuvialuit Game Council and the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, gathered Feb. 22 to say goodbye at his funeral.

Carpenter, a great-grandfather with eight children of his own, liked to tell his family he was born in the ocean, in 1934, aboard a boat his father owned called the North Star.

"He thought of his family first. The land and the people surrounding our area came closely underneath. He fought for the rights of all Inuvialuit to make sure we got what we deserved," said his daughter, Donna Keogak.

His dedication didn't go unnoticed during his lifetime. Carpenter was the recipient of many prestigious awards to honour his environmental efforts and passion for wildlife preservation, including a National Aboriginal Achievement Award bestowed upon him in 2005.

Carpenter continued to do work for the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation even in ailing health, having recovered from a stroke in 2007, when doctors said he had six months to live.

Keogak said his family and his Inuvialuit people kept him going.

"Everybody calls him a gentleman," she said. "He was caring, he was gentle and he was very, very strong."

"The past few days we've had phone calls from people all over the world," she added, explaining her father's work with the Inuvialuit Game Council allowed him to travel quite a bit. "He's been all over the world."

In addition to his hobbies of trapping and camping, Carpenter was "a number one fan of the Montreal Canadiens," said Keogak.

The night he died, Carpenter was watching Canada's Olympic men's hockey team play against Switzerland. He saw them win.

As per Carpenter's wishes, his family is asking those who knew him to make a donation to the community's new youth centre instead of sending flowers.

"One thing he wanted to do was try and help out the youth in our community," Keogak said.

Carpenter was to cut the ribbon at the centre's grand opening in Sachs Harbour at the end of the month. The centre is being named after his father, Fred Carpenter, and Andy sold a portion of his land so that it could be built.