Sam Johnston, First First Nations Speaker in Canada.

• Author: O'Hare, Caitilin
• Position: Sketches of Parliaments and Parliamentarians Past

Samuel (Sam) Johnston, of the Teslin Tlingit, holds a unique place in Canadian history as the first First Nations person to be elected Speaker in Yukon and in Canada. He was also instrumental in the development of land claims and First Nation self-government agreements between First Nations, and the governments of Yukon and Canada.

Born in 1935 in Teslin, a small village in Yukon that is part of the Teslin Tlingit Traditional Territory and was historically the summer meeting place for Inland Tlingit people, Samuel (Sam) Johnston's journey into politics began when he was elected Chief of the Teslin Tlingit Council in 1970, a position he held until 1984. In February 1973 he travelled to Ottawa as part of a delegation of Yukon First Nations Chiefs to present then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau with a document titled Together Today for Our Children Tomorrow--A Statement of Grievances and an Approach to Settlement by the Yukon Indian People. This document, to which Johnston was a signatory, outlined the history and needs of Yukon First Nations peoples, and became the foundation for the Umbrella Final Agreement. Though not reached until 1988 and finalized in 1990, the Umbrella Final Agreement serves as the template for final (land claims) and self-government agreements between individual Yukon First Nations, the Government of Canada, and the Government of Yukon.

Johnston's involvement with the Yukon Legislative Assembly began in 1985 when he was elected as the New Democratic Party Member for Campbell, a seat he retained in 1989. He was first elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Yukon on July 15, 1985, at the outset of the First Session of the 26th Legislature. This not only made Johnston the first First Nations person to serve as Speaker in Yukon, but the first in Canada. He was elected Speaker for a second time on March 8, 1989, the first sitting day of the 27th Legislature, and he held the position for its duration. During this period, he continued his efforts to support the First Nation population of Yukon, and further the work that he had accomplished as Chief of the Teslin Tlingit Council. On June 3, 1992, on the final sitting day of his tenure as Speaker, during the second reading debate on the bill, the Government House Leader's request that the Speaker be allowed to address the House regarding Bill No. 73, An Act Approving Yukon Land Claim Final Agreements received unanimous consent. Johnston said: "... I hope that the...