Joe Linklater – a former chief of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation – died over the weekend at his home in Old Crow.

The 54-year-old Linklater was a passionate defender of the Vuntut Gwitchin’s authority as a self-governing First Nation.

He was a firm believer in education.

During his 12 years as chief, he served as one of three executive committee members of the Yukon’s Education Reform Project which delivered its 270-page report in December 2007.

Linklater was first elected as a councillor for the First Nation in 1996.

In 1998, he was elected as chief of the Vuntut Gwitchin, a position he held through four consecutive terms until 2010.

Remaining involved in the affairs of the First Nation, Linklater was employed as the First Nation’s executive director at the time of his death.

The offices of the Vuntut Gwitchin were closed today, so no one was available to discuss Linklater’s legacy.

The Council of Yukon First Nations had no comment on the death this morning.

Acting Yukon coroner Heather Jones said Linklater died of natural causes.

He was found in his home Sunday morning.

“It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of former Chief Joe Linklater,” Premier Sandy Silver said in a statement released early this afternoon.

“On behalf of the Government of Yukon, I extend my deepest sympathies to the family, friends, colleagues and community of Mr. Linklater.

“Mr. Linklater was committed to serving his community and was well-known for his work to advance the self-governance of his First Nation as well as his advocacy for the Porcupine caribou herd.

“He has left a legacy of leadership, dedication and community service. He will be missed greatly, by many.”

Linklater wrote the forward for the book People of the Lakes, an account of the Gwitchin based on stories provided by elders.

The Gwitchin chief recalled the stories he heard from his parents and elders and how they captured the essence of his people, their commitment to each other, just like the stories in the book.

The bonds and partnerships they endeared were essential to survival on the land, Linklater wrote.

He recalled how the simple little word try was part of his vocabulary for as long as he could remember.

“And there in the early pages appeared that word, “…the mandate from the Elders was to ‘try.’

“If anyone were to ask me to describe in one word the best advice I’ve ever received from my parents and Elders it would be: ‘try.’

“That simple three-letter verb, when spoken by the generations of Elders who have contributed to this wonderful body of work, is said with a deep quiet passion. It speaks to me; it says, ‘Don’t ever give up!’ ‘Don’t be afraid.’

“No matter how difficult life seems, do what is right....”

Early this afternoon, Yukon MLAs held a joint moment of silence for the late chief and for the 15 people who died in Friday’s horrific bus crash in Saskatchewan.

Speaker Nils Clarke called Linklater a “prominent, important leader in the Yukon.”

A further tribute will take place “at the appropriate time,” the Speaker added.