FORT WILLIAM FIRST NATION - Fort William First Nation, the city of Thunder Bay, and the greater North West region have felt a significant loss after Phillip Pelletier Passed away at the age of 61.
Phillip Pelletier was best known for his work. He served Fort William First Nation for 24 years as a council member and a long-standing board member of the Thunder Bay District Catholic School Board and the Anishinabek Police Governing Board.
"It's really hard to take. Our community, our family, you know, he's my brother-in-law, he's a father, an uncle, a grandfather. You know, and the impact he had on his community since he first got elected in 1994 as a counsellor, he took on the role, even being a counsellor, took on the role of economic development and working many aspects of that to bring growth and prosperity to our community," said Chief of Fort William First Nation Peter Collins.
"You know he laid down the foundation for me as the leader when I first got elected in 1998. He helped me immensely get through the learning curve and helped me prosper and grow as a chief in our community, and I thank him for every bit of that. You know, one question that really resonates in my mind is 'What makes you think you'll be a better chief?' That's the first thing he asked me, and I said 'determination and skill, the same things you have' and the growth he brought to this community is all by determination."
Beyond his work as a Counsellor for Fort William First Nation, Pelletier also served on the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board, where his proudest accomplishment was bringing Indigenous programming to Thunder Bay catholic schools, which was a tremendous stride towards Truth and Reconciliation within the city of Thunder Bay.
"His impact was phenomenal over the last 25 years. He was solely responsible in many ways for building our Indigenous education program. He was not only a true ambassador of Indigenous education, but he was also a true ambassador of catholic education," said Pino Tassone, Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board director of education.
"He was involved in developing the Indigenous program, the department here at our school board, which, there's only two in the entire province. He was instrumental in developing a kindergarten program for Fort William First Nation."
Pelletier also played a crucial part in equity and inclusion, anti-racism, and ensuring that the school board had an Indigenous language program.
Pelletier also worked with and donated to many charity and non-profit organizations in the region, many of which his family had not even known about until they began calling after hearing of his passing.
