Accession N-2017-013 - Walter Slipchenko Circumpolar collection

Walter Slipchenko was born in Winnipeg in 1934 to Ivan and Olga Slipchenko. After being raised in Winnipeg, he furthered his education at the Canadian Military College at Royal Roads, Victoria, British Columbia and Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario, becoming an officer in the Royal Canadian Engineers. He later left the military, completing a Masters of Arts at the University of Manitoba in 1966. He then joined the federal civil service, being employed by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) from 1966 to 1988, in their Northern Coordination Research Group and Northern Science Research Group. In 1971, Walter was part of the Jean Chretien (Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development) delegation to the USSR. Several agreements came out of this visit and succeeding visits, while Walter was secretary and coordinator of the Canada-USSR Arctic Sciences Programme. Finally, Walter founded the Circumpolar Affairs Division of DIAND, becoming its Chief. From the mid-1970s to mid-1980s, Walter also lectured at Carleton University in the Geography Department, held positions on several advisory boards, and researched the socio-economic and technical development of the northern USSR. From 1988 to 1992, Walter served in the GNWT as Director of Circumpolar Affairs. While he was in this role, the GNWT signed two international agreements of note: “A Programme of Cooperation” with the Home Rule Government of Greenland and a “Memorandum of Understanding” with the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in support of a joint venture to build a $26 million village. In 1991, Walter was honoured for his work, receiving the Gold Medal Award from the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada. Walter also assisted in the creation of the Canadian office of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, brought indigenous Russian participation in the Arctic Winter Games, and aided in the institution of several cooperative arrangements between circumpolar countries. From 1992 to 2000, Walter worked as a consultant, becoming involved with the establishment of the Arctic Council, the Northern Management Project for the Government of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Institution Building for Northern Russian Indigenous Peoples’ Project. In 1997-98, he was Executive Director of the Arctic Council Secretariat and in 1998-99, chaired the Advisory Committee on the Humanitarian Assistance Project to Northern Russia, Phase I. Walter was married to Olga Sheremeta and the couple had one son, Andrew. Walter Slipchenko passed away in July 2016, at the age of 82.