SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Most people who have lived in Yellowknife and the surrounding area long enough will know about the exploits of the Beck and McQueen families in dog mushing.

Scott McQueen speaks on behalf of the Beck and McQueen families after being honoured with the special recognition award at the Aboriginal Sports Circle of the NWT's awards dinner at the Explorer Hotel on Thursday. - James McCarthy/NNSL photo

Anytime you mention either of those surnames, that's all you think of.

The Aboriginal Sports Circle of the NWT felt it was time to give both families their just due as they were named the special recognition award winners during the annual awards dinner at the Explorer Hotel on Thursday evening. Several members of both families were on hand to receive the honour but it was Scott McQueen who took to the microphone to speak on behalf of the group.

"One of the first questions I had (from the family) was 'Do I have to speak this evening?,'" he said. "I told them I would take care of everything and you guys just enjoy the recognition and the dinner."

Both families have been involved in dog mushing since the mid-1950s when dog mushing was a source of employment. The families depended on training and running dogs as a form of transportation because a good dog team meant you had a good standard of living; very few vehicles were in the area at the time.

It all began with Anna Marsden, McQueen's grandmother, who was the family matriarch.

McQueen said she was the one who tied not just the Beck and McQueen families together but also the Look family.

Most of her children ended up developing a love for dogs back then and would use the dog teams for hunting and trapping.

"It was important to be a person who could train a good dog team," said McQueen. "Everyone in the family developed a love for the dogs and it grew into a fever of sorts."

Grant Beck is perhaps the most well-known of the Beck clan and his life story in dog mushing has seen him race all over not just North America but also through the Pyrenees Mountains in Spain as well as stops through the Alps in France, Italy and Switzerland. Richard, Roger, Stanley, Raymond and Arthur Beck have also made a name for themselves in dog mushing and it's continued on down the line with Danny, Brent and John Beck, and Jaden Beck, Grant's grandson, getting in on the action.

Danny McQueen is perhaps best known for winning the Canadian Championship Dog Derby in Yellowknife an incredible five straight years from 1968 to 1972, a feat only equalled by Buddy Streeper of B.C. from 2009 to 2013.

The list of honours the families have won are too numerous to mention but they include several Canadian Championship Dog Derby titles, which almost always included the Yellowknifer Knife, which has been handed out since 1972, and countless other titles around North America.

McQueen said anyone who even came near a family member would invariably become involved with dogs in some way.

"People like Vivian (Look's) husband, Frank Kelly, he got that fever because he got too close to our family and wound up being involved with the dogs for many years," he said. "My new son-in-law, Ty, he got the fever as well and when he wants to talk dogs, he'll sit with members of our family and spend hours talking about dogs."

Even insults around the house had a dog connotation to them, said McQueen, such as when his brother, Steve, ended up becoming an officer with the RCMP instead of being a dog musher.

"He said something to my son, Taltson, which really made him mad and he really wanted to insult him badly," he said. "He thought about it for a few seconds and told him 'You're not even a dog musher.' That was the worst insult that little boy could think of." That line got many laughs from everyone in attendance.

The other winners on the night included James Duntra of Fort Liard, who received the sport award for his soccer exploits, Adam Nadli of Fort Providence winning the culture award, Kathleen T'seleie of Norman Wells getting the coach award and Orlena Modeste of Deline receiving the community builder award.

One thing notably missing from the evening was winners speeches and that made Greg Hopf, the sports circle's executive director, a bit sad.

He said the one thing he always takes away from the dinner is the speeches.

"Every time I hear those speeches, it really hits home how important recognition is in the NWT," he said. "I always look forward to those speeches but it's evident in the presentations before the awards were handed out how special the work is that you're doing."

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