Sweeney Scurvey (b. 1943)
Sweeney Scurvey was born into the Wolf Clan near Carmacks. His mother, Kitty Sam, was related to Chief Albert Isaac of Aishihik and his father, Gus Scurvey, was Tagish Kwan. Sweeny and his brother Edwin were raised by their father after their mother died. Gus worked at wood camps and taught his sons the skills needed for living well on the land.1)
When Sweeney was brought to the Whitehorse Baptist Mission school at age seven, he spoke only Northern Tutchone. He was sixteen when he was released.2) Sweeney and Edwin Scurvey were shown at the Baptist School in the documentary Mission School Syndrome produced by the Northern Native Broadcasting Yukon in 1988. The Residential School forbade him to attend his father's funeral in 1957.3)
Sweeney started to write poetry when he was at school.4) In 1997, he published a book of his poetry, A Glimpse of Peace.5) Among others, the book is dedicated to teachers at the Mission School who encouraged him to write.6)
Sweeney took grade nine at the Whitehorse Elementary School, but the principal of the school did not allow him to live at the hostel. He drifted from home to home and joined a gang. That led to jail and expulsion from school.7)
In 1962, the Whitehorse Star was looking for First Nation news and he applied and did that for two years.8) He wrote a column twice a week for the Whitehorse Star. He complained about the different laws for white and native people regarding drinking. [The law was changed in 1964 to allow First Nation to legally drink.] He was vocal about contaminated wells in the downtown Whitehorse Indian Village. He recommended cross-cultural training for teachers and recognized the need for more native teachers. He suggested an Aboriginal Day which today is held on 21 June.9)
Sweeney worked as a labourer and a heavy-duty equipment operator.10) He moved to Vancouver where he volunteered at the Vancouver Indian Centre and the Carnegie Library, but he had nowhere permanent to live.11)
He returned to the Yukon in 1990 to study at Yukon College.12) When he realized that alcohol was a problem, he quit drinking in 1997.13) After that, he completed research projects for Heritage Yukon and the Kwanlin Dün.14) He has written hundreds of articles for the Star, Yukon News, Nannzha, and several newsletters.15)