DENE ETHEL DOROTHY BLONDIN-ANDREW BORN–FIRST ABORIGINAL PARLIAMENT MEMBER
Born in Tulita, Northwest Territories, Ethel was the first Indigenous woman elected to the Canadian Parliament. She initially taught school from 1974-81 before joining the territorial Department of Education at Yellowknife as a language specialist. From 1981-84, she was involved in policy development for preserving Indigenous languages and culture. At Yellowknife, from 1984-88, she was manager and then acting director of the Public Service Commission, and finally assistant deputy minister of culture and communications. In 1988, she won the Western Arctic parliamentary seat for the Liberals. Re-elected in 1993, she was appointed Secretary of State, and then Minister of State, respectively, for Training and Youth. In 2001, she received an honorary doctorate from Brock University for her work for Aboriginal communities. After being voted out of office in the 2006 election, Blondin-Andrew became and remains currently Chair of Sahtu Secretarial Incorporated.
Source: “Ethel Blondin-Andrew,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 1/30/2008. Retrieved 6/25/2019, http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ethel-blondin-andrews/ Photo: Government of Canada (Parliament), 1988. Information on Canadian Federal Government websites has been posted with the intent that it be readily available for personal and public non-commercial use and may be reproduced, in part or in whole and by any means, without charge or further permission from the Government of Canada subject to certain conditions. The use on this site meets those conditions. Further justification provided upon request. Source: https://lop.parl.ca/sites/ParlInfo/default/en_CA/People/Profile?personId=6997
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