It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Samuel “Sammy” Pien, former Chief of the Naskapi Police Force. Sammy died peacefully on the evening of Tuesday, September 15, 2026. He was 79.
Sammy was born on July 10, 1947, the second child of Robert Pien and Louise Uniam Pien. His earliest years were at Fort McKenzie. A photograph from that time shows him as a baby held in front of his mother in her shawl, with his father Robert beside them and his older brother Isaac standing in front. He grew up at Lac John, one of thirteen children. His sister Charlotte still laughs about the bottom bunk. Whoever got home first got it, so Sammy once stuffed pillows under the blankets to make it look taken. His brother Jimmy was furious and tried the same trick later, but he never fooled Sammy.
Sammy was a survivor of the La Tuque residential school.
As a young man Sammy played music. People still remember him among the musicians of those days, along with his brother Jimmy and Grégoire and Bastien Aster.
Sammy received his first police training at Pointe-Bleue with the Amerindian Police. He later trained at Nicolet when he started with the Sûreté du Québec. He became Chief in 1982. When the service was restructured in 1992, he went on to lead our Naskapi Police Force, and he served as Chief until 2012. For more than thirty years he kept our community safe. He mentored many younger officers and represented our Nation among the First Nations police chiefs of Quebec.
Canada recognized his service with the Police Exemplary Service Medal in 2011 and its first bar in 2012. That same year he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in Halifax.
When William Moffat arrived in September 2012 to take over the department, Sammy gave him the epaulets he had worn every day as Chief. Last September, Chief Moffat gave Sammy the epaulets from his own career. “A full circle in our policing careers,” he wrote. He called Sammy one of the most respected police leaders in Canada.
We will remember Sammy’s sense of humour and the funny stories he loved to make up. He never hid his feelings. Like his brother Isaac, he took care of people and was always checking on someone. Only a few months ago he surprised his aunt Kitty Peastitute, who he was very close to, with a gift of fish. His children remember him as “a loving father, husband, brother, grandfather, and a great father figure to many children.” Many of us here were among those children.
Sammy was predeceased by his parents, Robert and Louise Pien; his brothers Isaac, Jimmy, Gerry and Lazarus; and his sisters Naomi and Nina.
He is survived by Noat Einish, the mother of his children; his children Michael Pien, Sarah Pien Mameanskum, Mary-Jean Pien, Noah Swappie and Marcelyn Gregoire; his grandchildren; his brothers Donald, Timothy and Moses; his sisters Charlotte, Maggie and Elisabeth; his aunts; and many nieces and nephews.
The flags at the Naskapi Police Station have been lowered to half-mast in his honour. We offer our deepest condolences to his family and to everyone who loved him. His loss is felt across our whole community.
Portrait of Chief Samuel Pien painted by an artist from Maliotenam.
Photo: Robert, Louise, Isaac and baby Sammy Pien at Fort McKenzie, 1947. Photograph by Paul Provencher. Naskapi Development Corporation Archives. Identified by Joe Guanish and Agnes McKenzie.