Andrew Clifford McLeod (1928 - 1990)
Clifford McLeod was born in Dawson City to Lily de Bastien. He was adopted and raised by Mary and Simon McLeod, a couple with no children. Clifford hauled water in Dawson when he was thirteen years old and found a job on the riverboats as a deckhand.1) He was a deckhand on the SS Klondike and assisted in drydocking her after the final voyage.2)
Clifford met Mary Jackson [Kat K’eok] from Klukshu when he worked on the steamers.3) Mary was the daughter of Charlie Jackson from Hutchi and Bessie Fred from Klukwan, Alaska. She was born in a tent at the north end of Dezadeash Lake and spent many years at Klushu and Dalton Post [Shawshe] before moving to Champagne and Dawson.4)
Clifford and Mary stayed in Dawson for a while and moved to Whitehorse where they were married. He worked for the United States Army in the 1940s and helped construct the hydroelectric power dam in the 1950s. He worked for twenty-two [16?] years at the Whitehorse Copper Mine.5) He gained top seniority and helped shut down the mine when it closed in 1980.6)
Clifford McLeod was a councillor for the Whitehorse Indian Band from 1965 to 1968.7) McLeod was declared acting chief when Elijah Smith resigned in 1968. During his brief tenure he cleaned up the village water pollution after the wells were found to be contaminated. He also lobbied the government to pay the chief’s a salary, arguing that work and responsibilities were too onerous for an unpaid position. Salaries were initiated for Yukon chiefs a few years later. McLeod did not seek re-election and supported several young people running for chief as he thought young people with good educations would better serve the community.8)