Simonie Michael

Simonie Michael
ᓴᐃᒨᓂ ᒪᐃᑯᓪ
Michael in 2002
Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories
In office
1966–1970
Preceded byDistrict created
Succeeded byBryan Pearson
ConstituencyEastern Arctic
Personal details
Born(1933-03-02)March 2, 1933[1]
near Iqaluit, Northwest Territories, Canada
DiedNovember 15, 2008(2008-11-15) (aged 75)
Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
Profession
  • Politician
  • Carpenter

Simonie Michael (Inuktitut: ᓴᐃᒨᓂ ᒪᐃᑯᓪ;[2]: 497  first name also spelled Simonee,[3] alternative surnames Michel[2]: 455  or E7-551;[4] March 2, 1933 – November 15, 2008) was a Canadian politician from the eastern Northwest Territories (now Nunavut) who was the first Inuk elected to a legislature in Canada. Before becoming involved in politics, Michael worked as a carpenter and business owner, and was one of very few translators between Inuktitut and English. He became a prominent member of the Inuit co-operative housing movement and a community activist in Iqaluit, and was appointed to a series of governing bodies, including the precursor to the Iqaluit City Council.

After becoming the first elected Inuk member of the Northwest Territories Legislative Council, in 1966, Michael worked on infrastructural and public health initiatives. He is credited with bringing public attention to the dehumanizing effects of the disc number system that was used in place of surnames for Inuit, and with prompting the government to authorise Project Surname to replace the numbers with names.

Michael was born near Apex, Iqaluit.
  1. ^ "SIMONIE MICHAEL". inuit.net. ABoriginArt. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference qtctext was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Item WOK 19-87 - Bob Williamson and interpreter, Simonee Michael". MemorySask. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  4. ^ "Checklistings". Maclean's Magazine. July 1, 1967. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.