Chief John Snow, 1933-2006

[ma-heench]

I was very sad to find this on ndnsports. I had the pleasure of hearing this man speak at a conference and learned a lot from him.

John Snow was born January 31, 1933, the future chief of the Wesley Band of the Stoney People residing near Morley, Alberta. He served his people as chief from 1968 to 2000 with only a four-year hiatus in the early 90’s. He became an ordained minister, the first in the Stoney Nation and held honorary doctorates in Law from the University of Calgary and Divinity from Cook College in Tempe, AZ. He was the father to seven children, John Jr., Rachel, Terry, Tony, Gloria, Billy and Theresa, the grandfather to nine and a great-grandfather to one. He and his children and grandchildren were no strangers to the powwow trail with Gloria serving as Miss Indian World and grandchildren Eli Snow and Chrissy Snow competing in powwows throughout North America. On Thursday, June 15, 2006 he joined his beloved wife Alva, who he has been missing since 2000. They are both in heaven now, but his family needs all our prayers. He was a spokesman, writer, author, statesman, ambassador and spiritual leader for Native people and he will be greatly missed.

[Kiwehnzii]

Yes, he was truly a good person. Wise, kind, hospitable, funny. So many ways to describe him. I had the pleasure of staying at his place a few years ago. He had this cabin behind his home in a wooded area that was his quiet place. Beautiful place. It is no wonder that he had the time to peacefully put his thoughts together in that little cabin. A bit further back in the woods, he took me and my family to his "other" quiet place. It was a waterfall where you could look down into the gorge and see a rainbow. It was here that he gave my son his first eagle feather. We'll never forget John. I'll always remember his quiet laughter after he told one of his funny stories.

[jed]

Funeral is today (June 19) at the Goodstoney Arena at 1pm.

[Lakota Wiyan]

I only met this nice man once, when Gloria was Miss Indian World. I want to also mention that Theresa was also Miss Indian Nations at one point, which was also a great source of pride for this family.

I'd like to send out my deepest condolences to Gloria, Therese and the rest of the family. What an honor it must have been to live with such a man of God, a loving and warm father and friend to all. Thank you for sharing so much of him with the rest of us during his life. What anticipation you must have to see him again someday.