Stephen Kakfwi's new memoir traces path from residential school to N.W.T. premier's office

Former N.W.T. premier Stephen Kakfwi says he wrote his new memoir after a sexual harassment lawsuit upended his life and left him with little else to do.

"There was no more work for me, so I wrote a book," said Kakfwi, whose book Stoneface: A Defiant Dene, was published in March.

"Out of all that pain and misery, I got to get time to write a book and I feel good about that." 

Kakfwi was an MLA for 16 years and was one of the territory's longest-serving cabinet ministers. He served as N.W.T. premier for three of those years, from 2000 to 2003. He was a central figure in the rise of the Dene Nation, and is also an accomplished musician and songwriter. Over the years he's also served as an advisor or board member for many organizations. Then, in 2021, he was named in a lawsuit relating to his work with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. 

Kakfwi says he wanted to write his memoirs so his children would know the stories from his eventful life. He relates tales from his childhood in Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., memories of being with his grandmother out on the land, his experiences at residential school, and his life in territorial politics.

"I wanted to write it because I thought I had an interesting life, meeting a lot of interesting people, people that deserve some credit, people that deserve to be mentioned," he said.

In the book, Kakfwi describes painful experiences as a student at the notorious Grollier Hall in Inuvik, where he was physically and sexually abused. He also details his positive experience at Grandin Hall in Fort Smith, under the tutelage of Father Jean Pochat, who remained a lifelong friend and supporter.

Kakfwi also writes vividly about his lack of emotion, something he gradually realizes is a result of being torn from his family at a young age.

"There are a lot of residential school survivors that have the same stony outlook on life. Your feelings get flattened. Your emotions get flattened with all the abuse and loneliness," he told CBC News.

"Stoneface," the book's title, comes from a nickname first used by fellow Indigenous leader Nellie Cournoyea to describe the "carefully guarded stoicism" Kakfwi cultivated as a politician. 

"I just never wanted to give anybody the pleasure of thinking they got to me. And so 'Stoneface' is part of the demeanor," Kakfwi said.

Kakfwi says he doesn't like to dwell on his painful memories, but he wanted his memoirs to show how he survived.

"I don't know why I survived. I faced a lot of difficulty in my life, but I also had great, great moments, opportunities that I could see. And it seems like every time I was down, I jumped back up with an idea about something I could do." 

The book Stoneface does not address Kakfwi's experience with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation or allegations against him that came to light in 2021 related to his role as a mentor in 2018.