The son of Louis and Amelia John, he was born on July 8, 1949 in the Carrier village of Tache, along the north shore of Stuart Lake, about 60 km from Fort St. James, British Columbia.
The area is sparsely populated, mostly by members of the Carrier people, and is noted for its many large lakes, including Ootsa Lake Reservoir, which is the source of water for the Kemano Powerhouse on a neighbouring coastal inlet, which is the power supply for the aluminum smelter at Kitimat.