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." 

'Shook up' by allegations

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. 

Cherry Smiley, who earned a scholarship through the foundation and was assigned to be Kakfwi's mentee that year, alleges in a lawsuit that Kakfwi made unwanted sexual advances toward her when the two met at a foundation gathering in St John's in June 2018.

Smiley is suing the foundation and Kakfwi for $1.25 million for breach of contract, breach of confidentiality and damages for the way they handled her complaint.

Kakfwi denied the allegations in a statement of defence filed last year, and none of the allegations have been proven in court. 

Speaking to CBC News last week about his new memoir, Kakfwi said he chose now to talk about Smiley's allegations "because I'm no longer feeling hurt and angry about it."

That wasn't always the case, he suggested.

"A lot of the mistakes I made in my life are mistakes that I made when I was angry. And so I didn't want to react in anger. I didn't want to criticize her or diminish her in any way," he said.

Kakfwi said he was "kind of shook up" by Smiley's allegations and that they upended his life in recent years. 

"It has been hard on my family. It's been hard on myself. I basically couldn't work anymore," he said.

"My contract [with the Trudeau Foundation] was cancelled. My appointments were revoked in a number of organizations. I felt like the media stopped asking me for my opinion about many things."

Differing views 

Smiley alleges that after having dinner together in St John's, Kakfwi rubbed her arm suggestively, "moved his body extremely close to [hers]," and repeatedly invited her to stay with him in Yellowknife, which she said made her uncomfortable.

She alleges that a similar thing happened a few days later at a gala dinner in St. John's, when Kakfwi pulled Smiley close to his body, grabbed her upper arm "close to her breast" and rubbed and massaged it.   

Smiley, in court documents, said the events left her feeling "shaken, distressed and upset."

Kakfwi does not agree that his actions toward Smiley in 2018 were sexually motivated as she alleges. He characterized his actions — including his invitation to Smiley to visit Yellowknife and stay in his guest room — as aimed at building a good and personal mentoring relationship.

CBC News has asked Smiley's lawyer for comment about Kakfwi's memoir. In an email to CBC News on Wednesday, Kathryn Marshall said she knew nothing about the book and had not read it. She also said Smiley's lawsuit is ongoing.

"We look forward to our day in court," Marshall wrote.

Emails and phone calls to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation — currently in disarray after its president and board resigned citing the charity's entanglement in the ongoing foreign interference controversy — were not returned.

Kakfwi is hosting a book launch for Stoneface this weekend in Yellowknife, at the Sundog Trading Post at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Disclosure: Stephen Kakfwi is married to Marie Wilson, who is a member of the board of directors of CBC/Radio-Canada.