Ethel Blondin-Andrew

Ethel Blondin-Andrew is a Canadian politician and the first Indigenous woman elected to the Parliament of Canada. A member of the Dene Nation, she was born at Fort Norman, Northwest Territories. After graduating from the University of Alberta, she taught school for a number of years before joining the Northwest Territories Department of Education, first as a language specialist, then as a policy advisor on Indigenous languages and culture. She joined the Public Service Commission of Canada in 1984, serving as manager and then acting director before being appointed the Northwest Territories' Assistant Deputy Minister of Culture and Communications. In 1988, Blondin-Andrew was elected Member of Parliament for the Western Arctic. She held a number of Cabinet positions, including Minister of State for Children and Youth, and served until 2006.

“As a country we have so much to work with to better ourselves. We have the land, people, abundance of wildlife. We also have a deep sense of caring, a sense of fair play and right-mindedness that predominates on most fronts. But even then, we have so much to do – and undo.”