He has a talent for illustration and a gift for leadership. He has been able to draw his Dene cultural values and has been elected to lead the way. Gerald Antoine is the Dene National Chief and he was raised in a traditional Dene way in a community called Rabbit Skin. When he first left his home community, he went to Fort Simpson, where there was an administrative centre, residential schools, a day school and he later ended up in foster care. Antoine was motivated to learn more about his culture, language, worldview and social context after living through those experiences.

He learned from the elders in his community, absorbing their wisdom. “This whole illustration of life, the way that I see it was unfolding and there were a lot of moving parts. Sometimes I didn't understand how they're connected, but I was there because it was a multi dimensional way of learning, Dene educational processes. I did that also, because it really made me motivated to continue being me,” Antoine recalls.

 When he was in the colonial centres growing up, he was punished for speaking his language and not conforming to their ways, and to get through those experiences, he held firmly to his identity. “I knew that my mom loved me and I knew my dad loved me. I knew that I spoke the language. I knew that way of life that's connected with the land. I knew who I was, but I was in front of all these obstacles. I was just a little child that never wavered from who I was and our way of life,” Antoine recounts.

Speaking about his education, he talks about it starting with being a human being and it starting in his mother’s womb, listening to the voices of elders sharing stories. His formal education started in Fort Simpson and he ultimately attended elementary school, college, and post-secondary. Antoine was also trained in carpentry.

In his professional journey, he has shared Dene methodology and worldview, starting with the Dene Nation logo he designed when he was young. In the beginning, he worked as an intern at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, as an interpreter at the Nahanni National Park Reserve, and an education manager assistant at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. As a radio announcer, he brought people together through Dene in the City. Those stepping stones led him to where he is today.

The methodology he shares prioritizes relationships with the land as Dene people. He believes in working from the inside out, balancing oneself physically, emotionally and spiritually to be able to be in harmony with the land. Beyond that relationship, Antoine affirms the importance of relationships with others and how crucial it is to ensure families have what they need, from ceremony, privacy to leadership. He uses his gift for illustration to bring his concepts to life like he did with the logo he designed so long ago.

Thinking of Indigenous students leaving their home communities for school, he says, “They're stepping away from their home fire to get more wood, to go check the rabbit snares, to go check the fishnet, to go hunting, to go pick up medicine. Think of it that way.” Antoine encourages students to rediscover themselves and to learn how to contribute to the important functions of their communities.

Some of the obstacles Antoine sees people facing are self-doubt, fear and trauma. In the aftermath of genocide, with people having been uprooted and families separated, he hears many crying out in pain. He feels a responsibility to bring people together and reinforces the importance of being there for one another in hard times and in times of reconnection. In the healing process, he believes in the power of ceremony and community and references the wisdom of Richard Wagamese in his book One Story, One Song.

Antoine speaks to the source of his motivation with warmth and pride, “Our people, our way of life, our land and the discovery and rediscovery of the priorities of the land, and also relationships… with the land, with ourselves and with other people.” If Antoine could give a message to his younger self it would be “A step at a time. Use the why's and all the five W's and also be at the same level as those little ones.”

With his talent for illustration and his gift for leadership, Gerald Antoine serves as Dene National Chief.  Throughout his life, he has been able to draw his Dene cultural values and has been elected to lead the way guided by those beliefs. Holding firm to his identity in hard times, he has overcome so much and he continues to find strength in his culture, the land and his community. 

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.