When former NWT premier Nellie Cournoyea was told Canada Post was going to issue a special edition stamp in her honour, she knew exactly where she wanted them to have the unveiling ceremony and why.
SA国际影视传媒淲e wouldnSA国际影视传媒檛 be here if it werenSA国际影视传媒檛 for Ulukhaktok and Aklavik SA国际影视传媒� you know SA国际影视传媒� the Inuvialuit and Inuit as a whole,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淲e struggled through that whole system for many, many years not only to create Nunavut but to look at all the issues that people are trying to find resolutions and solutions to.
SA国际影视传媒淏ut to me, this is a Ulukhaktok celebration. This is not a flash of my face on a stamp, thatSA国际影视传媒檚 not the issue for me. Communities like to be involved in celebrations.
SA国际影视传媒淭he reason weSA国际影视传媒檙e having a celebration in Ulukhaktok now is because ISA国际影视传媒檓 not dead,SA国际影视传媒� she joked.
Cournoyea spoke to Inuvik Drum June. 10. A commemorative stamp honouring CournoyeaSA国际影视传媒檚 contributions to the North and Canada was unveiled Jan. 11 at Helen Kalvak Elihakvik school. Making the celebration even sweeter is this year is the 50th anniversary of UlukhaktokSA国际影视传媒檚 Kingalik Jamboree.
Admitting she was more interested in joining the celebration in Ulukhaktok than the personal recognition, Cournoyea said communities in the North were particularly deeply connected to the postal service, relying on it for pretty much everything.
Noting many of the communities donSA国际影视传媒檛 even have roads connecting them, she said without the post office life in the North would look very different.
SA国际影视传媒淭he Arctic communities depend on the postal system,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚t really matters to small communities SA国际影视传媒� you donSA国际影视传媒檛 have three or four stores you can pick and choose from. The postal service is for everything you want to bring into the community. It should be recognized a lot more for the value it places. The further away you are, the more important it becomes. If you want to run a small business, you depend on your contacts with the outside world.
SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 a real need, not a luxury.SA国际影视传媒�
Other parts of the government could learn a thing or two from Canada Post, she noted, pointing out regardless of the service or infrastructure being provided to the North, the first point of service must always be the community. Otherwise, projects tend to get muddled or fail.
Born in Aklavik, Cournoyea was premier of the NWT from 1991 to 1995 and served at several cabinet portfolios as an MLA from 1979 until 1995. She was the first female premier of the NWT and the first Indigenous woman to hold the position in Canadian history. She was a key figure in the creation of Nunavut territory and the negotiations for the Inuvialuit Final Agreement. After leaving the GNWT, she managed the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation for 20 years. To this date, she is still vice chair of Tuktoyaktuk Community Corporation and sits as president of Nutrition North.
SA国际影视传媒淗opefully they can find someone else to take the position,SA国际影视传媒� she joked.
She is one of three exemplary Canadians of Indigenous descent being honoured by Canada Post this year as part of its Indigenous Leaders stamp series. Launched last year, the program is guided by Indigenous groups to recognize important figures in Canadian history.
Joining her in this series are late National Indian Brotherhood Chief George Manuel, who was honoured posthumously in a ceremony in North Vancouver on June 12 and late senator Thelma Chalifoux, who was honoured in St. Albert on June 13. A lone set of the commemorative stamps will be available on June 21 for collectors everywhere. Another three individuals will be selected in 2024.
Noting politics is not an easy or fun job for everyone and life in the political arena takes getting used to, Cournoyea had frank advice for the young leaders emerging in the Beaufort Delta and across the North.
SA国际影视传媒淕et going.SA国际影视传媒�
