SHÚTAO’TINE DENE ETHEL DOROTHY BLONDIN-ANDREW BORN—1st ABORIGINAL PARLIAMENT MEMBER
Born in Tulita, Northwest Territories (NWT), Ethel fled Inuvik’s residential school and suffered tuberculosis as a child. Graduating from the University of Alberta, she returned to the NWT. She taught school (1974-81) before joining the Department of Education at Yellowknife (1981-84) where she taught and promoted preservation of Indigenous languages and culture. Blondin-Andrew then served as acting director, Public Service Commission & later as assistant deputy minister of culture and communications (1984-88). In 1988, Ethel 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, Ethel 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 served as Chair of Sahtu Secretarial Incorporated from 2009-18. In 2022, she was named Officer of the Order of Canada.
Sources: “Ethel Blondin-Andrew,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 1/30/2008. Retrieved 6/25/2019, http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ethel-blondin-andrews/ Ollie Williams, “Ethel Blondin-Andrew becomes Officer of the Order of Canada,” Cabin Radio, 6/29/2022. Retrieved 7/17/2022, Ethel Blondin-Andrew becomes Officer of the Order of Canada (cabinradio.ca) Photo: Government of Canada (Parliament), 1988. Permissive Use. Source: https://lop.parl.ca/sites/ParlInfo/default/en_CA/People/Profile?personId=6997
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