Dane Gibson
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jun 21/99) - When Jonas Sangris goes to sleep at night, he's thinking about his people. The same is true when he wakes up.

After 12 years of service as Dettah Yellowknives Dene chief, Sangris decided not to run for the position again.

It's June 15, election day in Dettah, and all the 51-year-old has to do is cast a vote for the new chief hopeful. Sitting across from him at the Smokehouse Cafe in Ndilo, he spends his new-found time pointing out familiar landmarks from the patio -- many of which he helped build with his own hands.

"This is my community -- I never left," Sangris said. "I was born here, raised here and I worked my whole life for it."

"There's no secrets in a community like ours."

The bear of a man with the memorable laugh is quiet for a spell. It becomes clear that the fact he's no longer chief hasn't quite set in. It's a good time, he says, to remember where he came from.

"My dad said in Grade 9 that I had to learn the ways of the land, so I left my school in Fort Smith for two years. I think that's when my education started," Sangris recalls.

He remembers how his father, Joe, and the other elders pushed the young men in the community to be strong.

Essential skills were learned, such as where and when it was safe to go on ice. The boys were shown what type of wood burned quickest and where to find it. Learning how to travel on the vast land without a map was just part of the education.

Elders taught about the spring and fall hunts, trapping, and living on the land.

"We'd get up early in the morning and go till late at night. In those days, the elders made us work. It was hard sometimes, but they were teaching us how to survive out in the elements," Sangris said.

"They'd send us to the best hunting and fishing areas. It didn't matter where we went, there was always a sign that our people had been there before us," he said.

"I loved every minute I was out there. It didn't matter if I was cold or wet, I loved it out there," Sangris said through a smile.

His skills on the land didn't come at the expense of his skill with people. Jonas even impressed England's bluest of blue bloods, the Queen of England.

It was 1970, when the Queen of England and a young Princess Margaret and Prince Charles toured the Canadian North. They made a stop in Dettah met Jonas.

"I was on the spring hunt with my dad around Wool Bay when he heard the Queen was coming. He wanted to talk to her about getting a road to Dettah, which didn't exist at the time," Sangris said.

With that, Jonas and his dad packed up the dog team and headed home early, just in time to meet the Royal Family.

"When I got there with my dog team I met the prince and princess," he said.

"After supper, they asked their mom if I could take them for a ride on my dog sled. She agreed, so I hitched up my dogs and took them for a spin around the bay."

It seems the trip made quite an impression on the royal kids because they were ready to take their new friend home with them.

"They asked me if I'd ever been to England. I told them the farthest I'd been was Fort Smith, so they asked their mom if I could go back with them. After the Queen heard the request she said there was flights across the ocean everyday and that she could arrange it," Sangris said.

"I went to my dad and told him the Queen wanted to know if I could go to England with them. My dad looked at me and said: "Are you crazy, we're going on a spring hunt to Moose Bay tomorrow."

He could hardly hide his disappointment.

"I had to go back to the princess and tell her I was going muskrat hunting. I could have been a prince in a palace but instead, I went muskrat hunting," he says laughing.

Sangris grew up playing hockey, enjoying the land and spending time with his friends -- but his eye was always on the community.

"There was very little happening in Dettah. If we wanted to play sports or attend shows, we had to do it in town," he said.

"I saw mining and industry coming in and I watched Yellowknife grow. I realized we needed community infrastructure to maintain our community identity."

Because of his love of hockey, one of his first projects was to build an outdoor rink in Dettah with his bare hands, complete with boards and lights.

"I guess that was a sign of things to come. I became a council member and watched and learned from former chief Joe Charlo," Sangris said.

"In the late-'80s, I got elected chief and from there, I started to build our economy. It was hard to do while still trying to maintain traditional values."

He said thanks to the cooperation they've fostered with federal and territorial governments, Yellowknife businesses and other Dene communities, he was able to achieve many of the goals set out before him as chief.

He points to the apartments, the school, community offices and gymnasium as sure signs Dettah is stronger. Even the Smokehouse Cafe, where he enjoys coffee is part of that growth.

"I'm just really glad my wife supported me all these years. I attended so many meetings and travelled so much. All I thought about for the last 18 years was my people and how I could make things better for them," he said.

"When I think of all those things we did, it's like a dream. It happened, but it seems impossible. We've maintained a vibrant community here."

Those who are in the best position to judge a chief are the people he was elected to serve. At a candidates' forum to introduce the three members running for the position of Dettah chief, most of the public at the forum took time to publicly say their thanks and pay homage to the retiring chief.

"I remember it was past midnight and Jonas came to us with a load of wood. He chopped it himself and when I asked why, he said because he knew it was going to get cold," an elder said.

"That's the kind of chief Jonas was. He helps us with any request at any time."

Another elderly couple told of how Jonas helped them build a cabin in the woods. It's a cabin they still use today.

Jonas wasn't at the forum to hear the praise and when told about it, he smiles and shrugs.

"I didn't do it for the praise. Today, I wander around and feel good about what I see but there's still so many things that didn't get done," he says.

"I feel like I accomplished something but other times, I feel like I gave up. One thing is for sure, I'm going to help the band with the big political issues they'll face in the near future."

When he thinks of the future, he worries about the youth who are drifting away from the traditional ways. Turning that around, he says, will be one of their greatest challenges as a First Nation.

"I think the young people have to be more land orientated. Instead of learning the ways of the land, they're in the arcades or bingos or bars," Sangris said.

"We have to get together to talk about this because our strength as a people depends on it. We were lucky because we had the elders to teach us but many of them are dying out and with them, we're losing a lot of knowledge."

Seven years ago, Jonas cut 72 logs to build his own cabin at the north end of Gordon Lake. Without the pressure of representing his people as chief, he thinks he might find time to finish the project.

"Right now, everything is in place except land claims but we're moving ahead. Once that's settled, it will be easier for all us," he says.

"I just decided that now was the time for me to step down. I've been saying I'm going to build my cabin 'next spring' for more than five years. Now, I got all kinds of time.

"That cabin is going to get built...next spring," he said, adding his big laugh.