August 2007 Edition

By Rudy Kelly

At the age of 47, most people are starting to slow down or will have settled into their place in life. Not so for Deborah Jeffrey, who continues to reinvent herself, so that she is better armed for what she sees as her lifelong battle: to help her people.

Jeffrey, who already holds both a Bachelor and a Masters degree in education, finished off her law degree this past spring and, after she finishes a year of articling, will be joining the Yaletown law firm in Vancouver. She chose that firm because it specializes in Aboriginal rights and title, a subject that she holds a special passion for.

Deborah Jeffrey (left) pictured with her family.

“My whole life I’ve been brought up with an idea to serve the community and I thought a law degree would be useful for that,” said Jeffrey. “If we want to change the legal and political framework of Canada, we need to be involved more directly.”

Jeffrey has been directly involved before, having been the President of the Tsimshian Tribal Council (TTC) from 2000-2002.

“It was probably the most difficult job I ever held. There were such high expectations,” said Jeffrey of being TTC president. “It was a good growing experience for me. It’s something I would like to continue sometime in the future.”

Of course, the challenge was even greater for her as a woman – and an attractive one, at that. During the election, there were rumblings from some members of the old guard that the Nation needed a leader, not a “model” – despite the fact that Jeffrey had considerable education and experience in Aboriginal affairs behind her.

“You can’t engage in that kind of negativity and let it bring you down,” she said about some of the sexist remarks that were made. “It can be demoralizing but there were also a lot of very kind and supportive people behind me.”

While she felt she still had a lot of work to do for the Nation, Jeffrey made the difficult decision of stepping down after one term because she had always promised herself that she would if it affected her ability to be a good mother to her daughter, Celina, who was then seven-years-old.
“It’s incredibly difficult to be a good parent and an advocate for your people,” she said.

And a strong advocate she has been.

After teaching for six years and counseling for three, Jeffrey worked in the Ministry of Education for a year-and-a-half and then was department head of First Nations Education in School District #52 in Prince Rupert, where she was born and lived most of her life.

She has also been the President of the provincial First Nations Education Steering Committee since 1999.

In Prince Rupert, Jeffrey helped create one of the province’s – if not the country’s – most progressive and innovative Aboriginal education programs, with considerable strides made in language and cultural instruction, as well increasing graduation rates.

“Education is still my passion and, in the long term, is the key for our people,” she said. “We need some long-term strategies to support our students.”

The daughter of a cannery working mom and a fisherman and logger dad, she is one of 10 children; six girls and four boys, of which she is the third oldest. The family is very close, she said, crediting them and her partner with helping her get to where she is.

“My brothers and sisters have been amazing. They took care of my oldest, Celine (she also has a second daughter, Amy, 4), on the weekends. It’s a tough juggling act for me and I never would have gotten my degree without the support of my family and my very supportive partner.”

While she prepares to work on her articles, Jeffrey said she is keeping a close eye on Aboriginal affairs across the country and, in a year, will be ready to help advance the recognition of rights and title.

“It’s very difficult to build economies and be self-sustaining without our resources,” she said. “The country can’t go on ignoring it any longer. We have a lot of work to do and I want to contribute.”