The sudden death of Dene leader Charlie Tobac of Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., has shocked people in the Sahtu region of the Northwest Territories.

'We think about him so much. He went too fast.'—Jim Pierrot

Tobac died on Saturday morning, shortly after he had returned to Fort Good Hope from a five-day trip on the Mackenzie River. Community members estimate Tobac was in his 50s.

A procession of vehicles followed an RCMP vehicle that transported Tobac's body to the Fort Good Hope airport on Saturday. An autopsy is expected to be performed in Edmonton to determine the cause of his death.

"We think about him so much. He went too fast," Sahtu elder Jim Pierrot told CBC News. "He should have stayed with us a little bit. But he just went like that."

Tobac was known as a strong believer in Dene cultural and healing traditions, as well as a strong voice for Dene people on issues such as the proposed Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline.

"To help people, he goes out [to] meetings," the elder said. "If he don't go out [to] meetings, he goes in the bush, he goes to his cabin and teach his children. That's what he was doing."

Pierrot said Tobac sounded fine when they spoke before he left on his Mackenzie River trip.

"He was feeling good. I thought he was okay. He said, 'Yeah, yeah, I'm alright,'" Pierrot said.