Native leader, entrepreneur.
Born at the Sandy Bay First Nation on 31 January 1931, son of James Desjarlais and Emily Spence, he was known for his entrepreneurial spirit and worked in manufacturing, restaurants, delivery and transport in urban and rural Manitoba. He also worked as a farmhand and eventually worked assisting farm workers and farmers in the Portage la Prairie area. He served as Chief of his reserve for two terms. He was a hunter, medicine man, and family man. He died at Winnipeg on 14 December 2003 and was interred in the Sandy Bay Cemetery.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 17 December 2003.
“They will never be forgotten” by Kevin Rollason, Winnipeg Free Press, 31 December 2003, page A6.
This page was prepared by Ian Stewart.
Page revised: 2 February 2017
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