MoCreebec Chief Allan Jolly is being remembered as “a visionary and compassionate leader” after his passing January 19 at Kingston General Hospital, aged 74. He was surrounded by his wife Lorraine and other family, including children Michael, Diane, Aaron, Debbie, James and Sheila.
While Jolly didn’t live to see the fulfillment of his dream to establish MoCreebec as a distinct Indigenous community, he achieved impressive steps towards this goal. Before he died, discussions were underway to create a permanent home for MoCreebec members in Moosonee.
“Chief Jolly was a beloved family man, an inspirational leader and an integral part of his community,” stated the Grand Council of the Crees, which recognized MoCreebec as Eeyou Istchee’s 11th Cree community in 2017. “He guided MoCreebec with courage and wisdom, leaving a lasting impact that will continue to inspire generations to come.”
Jolly founded the MoCreebec Council of the Cree Nation in 1980, formally organizing families who had been living in the Moose Factory and Moosonee area. Although members of MoCreebec trace their ancestry to James Bay’s east coast in Eeyou Istchee, they migrated to this northern Ontario region over the years as it grew into a regional hub for employment, education and healthcare.
Originally from Waskaganish, Jolly and his siblings were sent to the residential school in Moose Factory. Intended as a temporary situation, the family camped in the area each summer to trap until Jolly’s father got sick and stayed one winter. His mother got a job at the nearby federal Indian hospital, built in the 1950s to deal with the tuberculosis epidemic.
Due to the complications of Quebec ancestry and an Ontario home, MoCreebec members are excluded from both Treaty 9, signed by the Moose Cree and neighbouring First Nations in 1905, and the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. Meeting with former Grand Chief Billy Diamond to better understand the JBNQA, Jolly formed a local working group and secured initial funding from the GCC.
“When we started back in the 1980s, we surveyed the people three times over three years,” Jolly told the Nation in 2002. “Do you intend to go back to where you came from? Eighty-five per cent weren’t planning to go back. There were obvious problems facing us. We were living in canvas tent frames year-round with no water, electricity or anything.”
Many community members lived in an area of Moose Factory Island called Tent City, Jolly was instrumental in organizing efforts to transfer lands from the Anglican Church to a non-profit housing association. It ultimately became provincial land that enabled water and sewage access and property titles.
“Allan made Tent City a beautiful subdivision,” explained good friend and longtime Moosonee mayor Wayne Taipale. “I have to give credit to Chief Allan for that. He was the one who got almost 30 houses where our residents could rent-to-own. People own their own homes now in Moosonee through that program.”
Taipale became friends with Jolly in the 1960s when they both attended school in Moose Factory and got to know his whole family. He even worked on a construction project with Jolly’s father, George, recalling him as a very hard worker. As they became leaders of their respective communities, their paths crossed many times.
“He was a real leader, a real go-getter, and he’ll be sadly missed,” said Taipale. “He also brought in cable television and internet for the town of Moosonee and Moose Factory. Before we only had two channels. Allan was my go-to as mayor when I had some doubts or hard times.”
As JBNQA beneficiaries without most of the benefits, MoCreebec’s local services board had no source of funding in its early years. With their “backs against the wall,” they established businesses in Moose Factory and Moosonee over two decades, generating enough income to survive as an organization.
Jolly made numerous presentations on his community’s behalf at Cree AGAs over the years, navigating recurring conflicts regarding his people’s exclusion from JBNQA rights, such as the income security program. In September 2022, the GCC reached an understanding with the federal government to explore options for the recognition of the MoCreebec Eeyoud as a distinct Cree community in Ontario.
“I think there’s an open ear with the government,” said Jolly at the time. “I have to be optimistic about it, we’ve been at it for 40 years. We’ve done what we need to do at our end in order to bring our people along to this point.”
MoCreebec is planning a new rent-to-own project in the town involving about 50 houses that is open to any Indigenous person.
“He was also looking at Crown land within the boundaries of Moosonee and possibly moving the MoCreebec operation over to there,” shared Taipale. “We gave an MOU they can bring to the provincial and federal governments and the other band as well. We have to give them property.”
The region’s First Nations leaders extended condolences to Jolly’s family. The Mushkegowuk Council stated: “May his spirit and the impact of his work continue to inspire all those who were fortunate enough to know him.”
Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler noted, “H was also a teacher and mentor for younger generations, sharing traditional knowledge of his life experiences hunting, harvesting and living in harmony with the gifts of the land.”
Jolly jokingly called Taipale “little Chief” as they discussed everything from community issues to how the geese were flying. They had recently been looking forward to retiring and spending more time at their bush camps.
“The sad thing is we were just discussing if this was going to be our last term in office,” Taipale said. “He just loved spending time in the bush with his grandkids and family. He will really be missed. He planted many more seeds that could be grown.”