The community said goodbye to someone very special last week. Andy Chelsea lost his battle with cancer on June 27. Andy didn’t lose many battles.
Different people have different memories of Andy. These are mine.
To say that he and his wife Phyllis are legends in their time may sound a bit much to those who don’t know them, but they come closer than anyone else I know. The story is well known of how Andy, a recovered alcoholic, became Chief of the Alkali Lake Band in the early 1970s. At the time the community had horrendous problems with alcohol addiction. Through determination and a lot of hard work, Andy and his wife Phyllis lead the community to sobriety and Alkali became an example of what can be achieved.
I had the privilege of being involved in a very small way with the Chelseas when they began their quest to bring sobriety to their community. Their success on that score is widely known, in fact they later took the message to indigenous communities all over the world, but it’s only part of the story. It’s a huge part of course, but Andy had more than sobriety on his mind. He wanted to make the village a happy, healthy and prosperous place to live. He wanted to bring the culture and pride back to the people. Some of his methods of achieving those goals were unusual, and they were often unpopular. He took a tough tone, especially with those who got in his way, but it was motivated by his vision and his compassion. When you add his courage and a good sense of humour to the mix, you get an extraordinary leader.
Wouldn’t it be different world if more of our leaders had that combination?
I couldn’t get to Andy’s service at Alkali on Saturday. My heart was there.
Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian and book author.
