Raymond Jackson Kànälna (1939 - 2016)
Ray Jackson was a member of the Agunda (Wolf) Clan, the eldest of seven children born to Peter and Marge Jackson. He was a student at the Whitehorse Baptist Mission School, a residential school in downtown Whitehorse.1) Jackson was an elder and a Champagne and Aishihik First Nations (CAFN) chief from 1972 to 1974 and again from 1979 to 1980.2) He was a determined advocate for First Nation rights in the Yukon and was among the twenty-one chiefs who kick-started land claims and joined Elijah Smith to present the Together Today for our Children Tomorrow document to federal government officials in Ottawa in 1973. Lawyer Dave Joe grew up with him and called him a good and faithful visionary. Joe and Jackson worked together on the Umbrella Final Agreement and CAFN's self-government agreement. Elijah Smith urged him to join the Yukon Native Brotherhood (YNB) and Jackson eventually became its president. He had a diverse career including land claim negotiator for Kwanlin Dün First Nation, band manager for Kluane Tribal Council, vice-chair of the Council of Yukon Indians (which amalgamated with Yukon Native brotherhood to form the Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN)), worked as a realtor, and in his late '50s and '60s owned an IT company called FrostByte Computers. Besides being a chief for CAFN, he was their band manager, president of Champagne and Aishihik Enterprises, and a CAFN General Assembly delegate. He served on several local boards including the CAFN lands and housing committee and the Haines Junction community justice committee. He was a familiar sight driving his vintage Pontiac Firebird around southern Yukon.3) Jackson is survived by his wife Annie, and daughters Sue-Anne and Crystal, and siblings Florence, Grady and Jackie. Predeceased by parents and children Oliver, Margaret and Ronnie.4)