Gary Potts, Temagami First Nation Chief who led road blockades in 80s, dead

A northern Ontario Chief who became a national figure during the Temagami forest protests of the late 1980s has died.

According to a statement on the Temagami First Nation web site, Gary Potts passed away Wednesday. 

Potts was elected Chief of Temagami First Nation several times over his life.

He was leader of the Red Squirrel Road Blockade in the late 80s, which aimed to stop the cutting of old growth forests in the area.

Potts was also Chief in 1973, when land claims were filed that 30 years later would give his First Nation control over some of those forests.

In a tweet Thursday, Charlie Angus, Member of Parliament for Timmins-James Bay, said Potts was a "legend in the north."

Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald said Potts was "a giant & someone that I looked to for inspiration as a young leader," in a tweet Wednesday evening. 

Director James Cullingham, whose documentary "Temagami – A Living Title to the Land" followed Potts' journey to the Supreme Court of Canada, said Potts was a "tremendous leader."

"He was a loyal friend. He had a big impact on consciousness and the politics around Indigenous rights in Canada for decades," Cullingham said.

"He stood for a certain way of being on the land. He stood for traditional knowledge. He didn't back down. He was a ferociously independent person in his thinking and his actions. But he worked with teams and he built teams, as well." 

Cullingham said Potts was also a "key figure" in the Assembly of First Nations.

"You could tell that people like Pierre Trudeau and Brian Mulroney perked up their ears when people like Gary Potts spoke," he said. "He was very persuasive, articulate, charismatic and people respected him. Even people who really disagreed with him."

But most of all, Cullingham said he'll miss the laughter of his friend of over 40 years.

 "He was one of the funniest people I've ever met. Just last August I remember sitting with him and my wife on a log on a beach at the north end of Lake Temagami laughing at a good story. I miss that but I'm carrying it with me forever."

According to the Temagami First Nation web site, mourners are welcome to attend a sacred fire lit in Potts's honour in the Bear Island community Thursday and Friday.