Henri Tardy was born in 1917 in Vidalon, France. He was ordained in 1947 (Oblates of Mary Immaculate) and received his first posting in the Northwest Territories in 1948. He arrived at Burnside River in 1948 and in Holman in 1949. He served in Holman until 1983 when he left the Northwest Territories. He passed away in St. Albert, AB in 2004.
Reginae M. Tait was born July 9, 1910 at Watford, Ontario, the daughter of Richard Homer and Lily Mae (nee Williamson) Stapleford. She was educated at London Normal School 1930-31 and at the University of Western Ontario, where she enrolled as an undergraduate focussing on art specialist courses. She married George Tait August 31, 1938, having a son, Gary Tait. Reginae Tait was a teacher/art supervisor at the Gordon McGregor School in Windsor, Ontario (1931-1938). At the same time she was highly active in various endeavours in Windsor including: being President of the Jr. Mary Grant Society (1934-1936), being President of the Women Teachers Federation (1935-1936), as a soloist at the Central United Church (1934-1938) and as an art instructor for summer and evening courses for teachers. Reginae Tait served as Assistant Director of the Anglo-American School in Bogota, Colombia from 1941-1944. She was President of the Bedford Park Home and School Association (1956-1957), Program Chairman of the Toronto Home and School Association (1957-1959), and National President of the I.O.D.E.(1970-1972 - Hononary National Vice-President. 1973-). Reginae Tait had founded the first NWT chapter of the I.O.D.E in Yellowknife previously. The Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire Prize Books for Children of the Far North was organized in 1960 by the National Education Department as a pilot project in eleven schools. Five hundred dollars was assigned for the purchase of books and the Principals of the schools were permitted to make their own selection of books. In 1961, the project was enlarged so that all 56 schools in the Arctic and Mackenzie District received prize books. The books were awarded as prizes for achievement in school subjects, sports, cooperation, good study habits and artistic ability. As a result of being awarded books, the children were asked to write letters to the IODE to thank them for the prizes. A pen pal program emerged that encouraged the children to write and receive letters, as well as improved the writing skills of the children. In her time as I.O.D.E. president, Ms. Tait initiated and completed a project which aided premature babies by raising funds to purchase incubators for all hospitals and nursing stations in the Yukon and NWT. In 1971, she commenced an I.O.D.E. program to help deaf Inuit children. Reginae and George Tait accompanied Commissioner Stuart Hodgson on his 'working journeys' throughout the NWT (1972-1974). In 1974, the Tait's were members of a Franklin Probe expedition to the far north. Ms. Tait received the Queen's Jubilee Medal in 1977.
Dr. Paris B. Stockdale was the head of the Geology Department at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He also did consulting work for Harry Beekner, a mining stock speculator from Greenville, Tennessee. In July 1946, Harry Beekner financed a trip to the Northwest Territories, Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba in order to see the progress of some Canadian gold mines, in which he owned stock. Dr. Stockdale and Harry Beekner traveled by airplane, train and floatplane and the original 16 mm film was shot by Dr. Stockdale. In addition, to acting as a consultant for Mr. Beekner, Dr. Stockdale did consulting work for the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Manhattan Atomic Bomb Project at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
In the late 1930s to early 1940's Robert Stirton worked on the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) boats transporting supplies to the HBC posts from Waterways, Alberta to Aklavik.
Emily Irene Stillwell was born in Indian Head, Saskatchewan. She received her Nursing Diploma from Regina (Saskatchewan registration) and her PHN Diploma from the University of Saskatoon. Emily’s interest in Canada’s north, its people, sense of adventure and patriotism motivated her to want to work and experience Northern Canada. She moved to the Yukon Territory in 1955 and then relocated to Aklavik in 1958. While living in Canada's north, Emily worked in Mayo (Yukon Territory), Dawson City (Yukon Territory), Aklavik, Inuvik and Yellowknife. After the All Saints Anglican Hospital in Aklavik closed and the patients were moved to the Inuvik General Hospital she worked in Inuvik before moving to Edmonton. Due to a staffing shortage in 1964 at Northern Health Services in Yellowknife, she was asked if she would assist there for a time. She spent a two months in Yellowknife before returning to her duties at the Charles Camsell Hospital.
After retiring at age 55, Emily lived in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan for many years, and passed away at age 91 on June 2, 2022.
Sandy Stewart was a prospector who worked in northern Alberta and the Yellowknife area between 1936 and 1943. He moved to Yellowknife in 1939 with his wife Hazel and lived on Latham Island. Roy Stewart, son of Hazel and Sandy was born while they were living in Yellowknife. Sandy Stewart was one of the men to discover gold on Norite Bay, Lake Athabasca in January 1937.
Bill Stewart was born on June 12, 1950 in Darlington Country Durham, England. He was educated in Darlington and studied filmmaking at Teesside College of Art and subsequently did three years post-graduate study at the School of Film and Television of the Royal College of Art in London. He graduated in 1974 with a Master of Arts. In 1974, he immigrated to Canada and worked as a Film Editor for CBC in Toronto, where he worked on daily film reports of Justice Thomas Berger's Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry and Dean Lysik's Alaska Pipeline Inquiry. He arrived in Yellowknife in 1978 as the Film Editor for the new CBC North Television Centre. In 1980, he left CBC and joined the Government of the Northwest Territories, Department of Information, where he was the Technical Production Officer. He became Manager of that Audio-Visual Unit in 1981 and in 1983, coordinated the Dene Video Information Project. He participated in the filming of the 1981 "Last Mooseskin Boat Project." The project, jointly sponsored by the Native Communications Society of the Western NWT, the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, and the Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Information, involved the building of a mooseskin boat by the Mountain Dene and the documentation of this process. He left the Department of Information in 1988 and moved to Edmonton where he joined the Government of Alberta as the Film and Video Consultant for Alberta Culture.
The Society was run in conjunction with the drama program at St. Pats alongside members of the community.
The Northwest Territories Council of St. John Ambulance (Order of St. John) formed in 1972 with Air Marshall Hugh Campbell as the founding President. The Order of St. John has its origin in the Orders of Chivalry dating back to the first Crusade in 1099. St. John Ambulance, through a brigade of volunteers and a small permanent staff provides emergency first aid services at public gatherings and instruction in such courses as First Aid, CPR, Home Nursing and Child Care. The 1976 Northwest Territories Council of St. John Ambulance included Robert (Bob) S. Pilot as President and Michael J. Hewitt as the Executive Director. In 1977, the Council acquired its own building, "St. John House" in Yellowknife.
The first Anglican clergyman to arrive in Fort Simpson, Archdeacon James Hunter, established St. David's Anglican Mission in Fort Simpson in 1848. Hunter laid the groundwork to have a mission house built; however, he left Fort Simpson in June 1859. His successor, Reverend William West Kirkby was instrumental in building the church and mission house, as well as a school. The first St. David's Church officially opened at Easter 1861. When the Reverend William Carpenter Bompas was made the first Bishop of Athabasca in 1874, he chose Fort Simpson as his headquarters and St. David's Church became a Cathedral. Bishop Bompas and his wife shared it with the Reverend that succeeded Kirkby, William Day Reeve. When the Athabasca region was divided again, Reeve became the Diocese of Mackenzie River and Bompas moved to the Yukon. The old mission house was destroyed by fire during the winter of 1895-1896 and everything was lost. The second mission house still stands on the bank of the Mackenzie. The original St. David's Church was torn down and a new chuch was built between 1923-1927.
Irene M. Spry (nee Biss) was born in South Africa. She graduated from Cambridge with a degree in economics and political science and did her post-graduate work in social economics at Bryn Mawr. In 1935, she traveled to the north to study electrical development. Her travels took her to Cameron Bay on Great Bear Lake, Aklavik, Fort Yukon, Dawson City and down the coast to Vancouver. She lectured in economics at the University of Toronto and retired in Ottawa, Ontario.
The Sport North Federation was incorporated under the Northwest Territories Society ordinance in 1976, to serve as a unifying body for all sports associations in the Northwest Territories. Its purpose is to administer and help raise funds for territorial involvement in the Arctic Winter Games, Canada Games and the Canada Games for the Disabled, as well as to promote amateur sport in the Northwest Territories. The member associations appoint its board of directors and the directors then elect a volunteer executive that is responsible for Sport North Federation operations and policies.
Sport North holds the agreement with the Sport, Recreation and Youth division of MACA (through the Sport and Recreation Council) to manage and deliver Team NWT to Arctic Winter Games. Through this agreement, Sport North coordinates the athlete selection process to create Team NWT, and coordinates Team NWT in getting to and participating in AWG.
Arthur Henry Sovereign was born in Woodstock, Ontario on September 6, 1881. He is the son of Freeman Henry Sovereign and Helen Delia Shaver; United Empire Loyalists. He graduated from Woodstock Collegiate and won the John Hopkins Oratorical Medal while there. In 1903, Bishop Sovereign began his education for priesthood at Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto (U of T). He graduated with First Class Honours in 1905 while winning the John MacDonald scholarship in Philosophy. In 1906 he graduated with a Master of Arts from U of T with honours. He also received a Licentiate in Theology with First Class Honours and a Doctorate of Divinity (DD) from Wycliffe College, a Bachelor of Divinity from the General Synod of the Church of England in Canada, and a DD from Emmanuel College in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. While attending school, Bishop Sovereign played on the college football, hockey, and baseball teams, and participated in debates at Osgoode Hall. In 1913 he obtained a post-graduate degree in Philosophy and Theology at Oxford University in England.
Bishop Sovereign began his ministry in 1906 in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC) as an assistant to Rev. C.C. Owen at Christ Church and ordained as a deacon. A year later, Bishop Sovereign was ordained a priest at Holy Trinity Cathedral in New Westminster. In 1910 he was appointed first rector of St. Mark’s Anglican Church in Kitsilano and stayed there for 22 years. He was then appointed Bishop of Yukon (YT) in 1931 and moved to Dawson City, YT. The following year, he was appointed Bishop of Athabasca and moved to Peace River, Alberta (AB) serving the Athabascan region which covers 600,000 square miles consisting of Northwest Territories and northern AB. As Bishop of Athabasca, Bishop Sovereign travelled throughout the region supervising and developing churches, parish halls, and mission cottages until his retirement in 1950 in Vernon, BC. Throughout his ministry, Bishop Sovereign travelled to England on missions to better serve and support the Diocese of Athabasca and other Missionaries. He also preached at both St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminister Abbey.
In 1912 Bishop Sovereign met Ellen Ellison, the eldest daughter of Honourable Price Ellison at an Alpine Club outing. They married in 1913 and had three daughters and one son: Ellen “Ellie,” Elizabeth “Beth,” Mary, and Arthur “Art” Sovereign.
Bishop Sovereign loved helping others and this showed in his humanitarian efforts. He was vice-president of the Children’s Aid Society and president of the BC branch of the Royal Lifesaving Society. He was chairman of the Adoption Committee and founder of the BC Playground movement. In 1932 he founded the John Howard Society and served as the first president of the BC branch. He was also chairman of the Juvenile Court. In 1947 he helped found the John Howard Society of Alberta. Bishop Sovereign was also a member of the senate of University of British Columbia and the executive of the Vancouver Health League.
Bishop Sovereign loved mountains and was part of the original group that petitioned the government to preserve Garibaldi Park in BC. He was a member of the BC Mountaineering Club, the Alpine Club of Canada, and the Mountain Climbers’ Safety Club. He also was chairman of the Board of Commissioners for Silver Star Park. As a key force in establishing Silver Star Park for outdoor recreation, Vernon Lake on the top of Silver Star Mountain was later renamed Sovereign Lake and the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre was created in honour of Bishop Sovereign's legacy.
Additionally, in retirement in Vernon, BC, Bishop Sovereign helped organized the school for special needs children, the Vernon Golden Age Club, and was chairman of the library program in Vernon. He also helped found the Vernon Toastmasters' Club. He stepped in as rector at Vernon’s All Saints' Anglican Parish until an official rector was replaced. For the All Saints' Jubilee year, he wrote a book called, "A Tree Grows in Vernon; the History of All Saints' Parish, Vernon, BC." In 1957, Bishop Sovereign was named Vernon’s Good Citizen of the Year. A few days before his passing, Bishop Sovereign received the John Howard Society of Ontario medal for his outstanding humanitarian service.
During the First World War, Bishop Sovereign went oversees to work with the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and the Khaki University. He also became a chaplain for many army units. Years later, Bishop Sovereign served as a senior chaplain for the Royal Canadian Legion until just before his passing in 1966 at age 85. Upon his passing, Bishop Sovereign was considered to be Canada's bishop of longest standing.
In 1991, the Snare Lake Education Committee formed a subcommittee to develop cultural programming for the children. The Committee wanted to interview elders and record the procedures of seasonal activity for both the men and women of Snare Lake. The photographs and interviews would then be used to develop in Dogrib and English a handbook on seasonal activities. One of the primary aims of the project and the handbook was to "promote, enhance and maintain the Dogrib language." The Education Committee successfully applied to the Government of the Northwest Territories' Cultural Affairs Program for funding to assist the Committee in completing the project.