Hunter, host, helper: Joe Punch remembered by family and friends
Elder honoured for vital contributions to Sambaa K'e
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, December 22, 2016
SAMBAA K'E/TROUT LAKE
Wherever the smell of cooking fish lingers and the footfalls of Dene people sound out on the land, there the memory of Joe Punch lives on.
Sambaa K'e elder Joe Punch, right, died Dec. 7 in Fort Simpson. Family and friends are remembering him as a friendly host and his commitment to Dene law. - NNSL file photo
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Punch, a Sambaa K'e elder, died Dec. 7 in Fort Simpson at the age of 91.
A simple man often seen in a white shirt with the tops of his rubber boots folded down, Punch's impact on the Deh Cho region and beyond is the stuff legends are born from.
He left behind a cultural legacy remembered by family and friends at a funeral in Sambaa K'e on Dec. 14.
Born in Fort Providence in 1926, Punch spent 14 years at the Sacred Heart Mission. He left the school speaking only French and had to teach himself Dene Zhatie.
After leaving the school, Punch spent years with uncles and
relatives around Mink Lake, learning from them.
"They must have taught him well, because he turned out to be quite a hunter, trapper and fisherman," said Joachim Bonnetrouge, chief of Deh Gah Got'ie First Nation.
Bonnetrouge recalls meeting Punch for the first time in the '70s. During the summers, as Punch worked in forestry and on firefighting crews, he often stopped in for a meal in Fort Providence.
But it was on the social stage that Punch became well-known. He was a masterful cook and knew the best ways to prepare fish for a feast.
"We always remember, he was always at meetings and he was always volunteering, helping out the cooks (during feasts and celebrations)," Bonnetrouge recalled.
"He was always really friendly - a lot of fun."
Punch became known for his embodiment of the Dene law to share what you have.
"Whenever we went to (Sambaa K'e), you could not beat Joe Punch for hospitality. He was a good cook - he always fed us, brought us to his house. That's what he was noted for," Bonnetrouge said.
"He was really welcoming and he had a true virtue of the Dene culture. He sure knew how to share and visit."
He was also, by all accounts, a terrific handgame player.
Bonnetrouge recalls watching him play for Mackenzie-Liard in the early '70s, during an Indian Brotherhood assembly in Fort Good Hope.
"It was a heck of a time. Back and forth, back and forth - eventually, he started calling, and Liard started winning. And people said, 'Joe Punch is cheating, he's not calling it right,' " Bonnetrouge said with a laugh.
"He finally stood up, pointing with his calling finger, and said, 'Nobody tells this finger what to do! This finger only listens to me.' "
That spirit of certainty and his no-nonsense manner, coupled with a flair for storytelling, gained him a reputation for honesty and wisdom. Under his guiding hand, Sambaa K'e became a thriving community that has the fastest-growing school in the Deh Cho region.
Over his life, he was recognized many times for his volunteer work. In 2013, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal.
In 2005, he was given the NWT Outstanding Elder Volunteer Award from the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.
At the time, he told the Deh Cho Drum, "I just want to help people."
