This is a list of notable people who are from the Northwest Territories, Canada, or have spent a large part or formative part of their career in that territory.
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately 1,144,000 km2 (442,000 sq mi) and a 2016 census population of 41,790, it is the second-largest and the most populous of the three territories in Northern Canada. Its estimated population as of 2021 is 45,515. Yellowknife is the capital, most populous community, and only city in the territory; its population was 19,569 as of the 2016 census. It became the territorial capital in 1967, following recommendations by the Carrothers Commission.
Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about 400 km (250 mi) south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of the Yellowknife River.
Inuvik is a town in the Northwest Territories of Canada, and hosts the regional office of the Inuvik Region. Inuvik is both a Gwich'in and an Inuvialuit community. The community, like Aklavik, is located in both the Gwich'in Settlement Area and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.
Consensus government is a form of consensus democracy government in Canada used in two of Canada's three federal territories as well as in Nunatsiavut, an autonomous area in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Dene people are an indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages. Dene is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term "Dene" has two usages. More commonly, it is used narrowly to refer to the Athabaskan speakers of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in Canada, especially including the Chipewyan (Denesuline), Tlicho (Dogrib), Yellowknives (T'atsaot'ine), Slavey, and Sahtu. However, it is sometimes also used to refer to all Northern Athabaskan speakers, who are spread in a wide range all across Alaska and northern Canada. The Southern Athabaskan speakers, however, also refer to themselves by similar words: Diné (Navajo) and Indé (Apache).
Piita Taqtu Irniq, formerly Peter Irniq, is an Inuk politician in Canada, who served as the second commissioner of Nunavut from April 2000 to April 2005.
Hay River, known as "the Hub of the North," is a town in the Northwest Territories, Canada, located on the south shore of Great Slave Lake, at the mouth of the Hay River. The town is separated into two sections, a new town and an old town with the Hay River/Merlyn Carter Airport between them. The town is in the South Slave Region, and along with Fort Smith, the town is home to one of the two regional offices.
Gregory or Greg Smith may refer to:
Buffalo Airways is a family-run airline based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, established in 1970. Buffalo Airways was launched by Bob Gauchie and later sold to one of his pilots, Joe McBryan. It operates charter passenger, charter cargo, firefighting, and fuel services, and formerly operated scheduled passenger service. Its main base is at Yellowknife Airport (CYZF). It has two other bases at Hay River/Merlyn Carter Airport (CYHY) and Red Deer Regional Airport (CYQF). The Red Deer base is the main storage and maintenance facility. The airline is also the subject of the History television reality series Ice Pilots NWT. The company slogan is Your passage to the North.
Norman Wells is a town located in the Sahtu Region, Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada. The town, which hosts the Sahtu Regional office, is situated on the north side of the Mackenzie River and provides a view down the valley of the Franklin and Richardson mountains.
Lena Pedersen or Lena Pederson is a politician and social worker from Nunavut, Canada. In 1959, she moved from Greenland to the Northwest Territories and lived in Coppermine (Kugluktuk), Pangnirtung and Rae (Behchoko) before moving to Cape Dorset where she participated in the artwork sales of the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative.
Disc numbers, or ujamiit or ujamik in the Inuit language, were used by the Government of Canada in lieu of surnames for Inuit and were similar to dog tags.
Fred Koe is a former territorial level politician and Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest territories from 1991 to 1995. He was born in Aklavik.
Asger Rye "Red" Pedersen is a former territorial-level Canadian politician. In 1953, he got a job in the Canadian Arctic with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) at Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. In the following year, he was sent to Perry River (Kuugjuak) to assist Stephen Angulalik, the Ahiarmiut Inuit owner of the trading post, with the financial records, inventory and ordering, as Angulalik spoke no English. In 1957, Angulalik sold the Perry River post to the HBC and Pedersen was appointed manager. Angulalik returned to the post after resolving legal problems and worked alongside Pedersen; they became lifelong friends. He was, at one time, married to Lena Pedersen and their grandson, Calvin Pedersen was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut in July 2020.
Over the course of centuries, many Indigenous Canadians have played a critical role in shaping the history of Canada. From art and music, to law and government, to sports and war; Indigenous customs and culture have had a strong influences on defining Canadian culture. The Indspire Awards are the annual awards presented by Indspire, formerly the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation. The awards were first established in 1993 in conjunction with the United Nations declaring the 1990s "International Decade of the World's Indigenous peoples". June 21 is Canada's National Aboriginal Day, in recognition of the cultural contributions made by Canada's indigenous population. The day was first celebrated in 1996 following Governor General of Canada Roméo LeBlanc's proclamation.
Ice Pilots NWT is a reality television series broadcast on History Television that portrayed Buffalo Airways, an airline based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Buffalo mainly flies WWII-era piston powered propeller planes as well as Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprop aircraft year-round in northern Canada. The show ran from November 18, 2009 to December 17, 2014, comprising six seasons.
Simonie Michael was a Canadian politician from the eastern Northwest Territories who became the first elected Inuk legislator in Canada. Before becoming involved in politics, Michael worked as a carpenter and business owner, and was one of very few translators between Inuktitut and English. He became a prominent member of the Inuit co-operative housing movement and a community activist in Iqaluit, and was appointed to a series of governing bodies, including the precursor to the Iqaluit City Council.