Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I rise to pay tribute on the passing of Yukon elder Doris McLean, who was a great mentor to me when I was president of the Skookum Jim Friendship Centre.
McLean was a pioneer in indigenous self-government and the revitalization of first nation language and culture. As chief of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation from 1988 to 1992, she helped to finalize Yukon's Umbrella Final Agreement modern treaty in 1990, giving her people self-government.
In the 1970s, she established the Skookum Jim/Keish Tlingit Dancers, which would eventually evolve into the nationally celebrated Dakhká Khwáan Dancers. She would serve as the group's founding elder. Her daughter Marilyn Jensen is one of its most prominent members.
Throughout her career of service, she would also serve as the first Canadian female indigenous sergeant-at-arms for the Yukon Legislative Assembly.
Doris McLean's wisdom, storytelling, and sense of humour will be missed by us all.
Kwänaschis.