New stamp honours Nellie Cournoyea, key player in Nunavut history

A former premier who played a key role in the formation of Nunavut is being honoured with a new stamp issued by Canada Post.

Nellie Cournoyea was the first Indigenous woman to lead a provincial or territorial government in Canada when she became premier of the Northwest Territories in 1991.

A stamp unveiled Sunday in Ulukhaktok, N.W.T., as part of the Indigenous Leaders stamp series pays tribute to Cournoyea’s work advocating for Indigenous self-determination.

“Champion of her people — the Inuvialuit of Canada’s western Arctic — Nellie Cournoyea is known for the unwavering vision, work ethic and heart that have guided her fight for Indigenous self-determination and Inuit empowerment,” Canada Post said in a message. The stamp series, which highlights the contributions of modern-day Inuit, Métis and First Nations leaders.

Cournoyea was nominated by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami to be part of the stamp series.

“For them to sit down together and nominate me, that was an honor for sure,” she said in an interview.

Born in Aklavik, N.W.T., to a father from Norway and an Inuvialuit mother from Herschel Island in Yukon, Cournoyea grew up at her family’s bush camp.

She began a career in radio and later worked as a land claims fieldworker before transitioning into politics.

Elected to the Northwest Territories legislature in 1979, Cournoyea broke barriers to become the country’s first Indigenous woman premier.

Cournoyea has led numerous Indigenous organizations throughout her career, including the Inuvialuit Regional Corp. and the Committee for Original Peoples’ Entitlement. In her role with the latter, she helped negotiate the groundbreaking Inuvialuit Final Agreement, which included a land settlement of more than 90,000 square kilometres.

She later played a significant role in discussions that led to the creation of Nunavut.

“At that time, we were struggling with all the things that we still struggle with, language, cultural identity,” she said, reflecting on the time when Nunavut was still in the early stages of becoming an official territory.

“How do you put in place a working jurisdiction that you know [is] going to be totally dedicated to Inuit and Inuit values and traditions?” she said.

“I saw, in going forward, that to put a stamp on Nunavut was really important because people were together, they were united, they had a vision that was very, very articulated.

“I worked with a lot of people that had aspired to have Nunavut and I’m so so proud that we were able to accomplish that.”

Cournoyea now serves as chairperson of the Nutrition North Canada advisory board and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

“At that time, Nutrition North was more of an advocacy group of people, but right now we’re on a very, very large change and we’re talking now really about food security,” she said.

Looking forward, Cournoyea sees ensuring Indigenous people have access to nutritious food, as well as climate change, as some of the biggest issues that need “serious attention” from governments and organizations.

“We have to come out as quickly as possible to put a stamp on who we are [as Indigenous peoples],” she said.

Cournoyea’s stamp — featuring a photo of the former premier taken in 2022 by Peggy Jay, from Inuvialuit Regional Corp. — is one of three Indigenous Leaders stamps that will be released to the public on June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day.

This year’s stamps will also honour George Manuel, a First Nations political leader, author and activist who lobbied for the inclusion of Indigenous and treaty rights in the Canadian Constitution, and Métis activist Thelma Chalifoux, the first Indigenous woman appointed to the Canadian Senate.

The set is the second in Canada Post’s multi-year Indigenous Leaders series. In 2022, former Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Jose Kusugak was honoured with a stamp.