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Lorne Gushue was raised and educated in Nova Scotia and came north from Acadia University (B.Sc. 1989, B.Ed. 1991) for two months in 1991. He worked as a French immersion middle school teacher and then in the territorial public service in several capacities.

He has been involved in a diverse range of causes, serving as one of the first Commission Members and former vice-chair of the Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission, where he assisted in producing public service announcements on the topics of youth and homophobia. As a co-founder, board member and spokesperson for OutNorth and a former board member of AIDS Yellowknife, he has advocated for equality and has helped to raise awareness about the spread and prevention of HIV/AIDS. He has been active on several local and national pride committees within the organized labour movement. He is also a long-time member of the Yellowknife Choral Society and has been involved in several community theatre companies. He has volunteered with the Yellowknife unit of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, providing marine search and rescue on Great Slave Lake.

In 2001 Lorne received the NWT Outstanding Volunteer award, and in December 2007 he was awarded the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award (currently known as the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers). He was selected as a delegate of the 2008 Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference.

In 1983, a project known as the Gwich'in Language and Cultural Project was undertaken in Fort McPherson to research the language and culture of the Gwich'in people. The intent was to gather information, materials relating to Fort McPherson, and the Gwich'in people, past, and present, and eventually establish a library of resource materials for the community. Sarah Jerome was the Project Coordinator. Information and materials were collected from a wide variety of sources including archives, libraries, Fort McPherson residents, and organizations such as Committee for Original Peoples' Entitlement (COPE). The Northwest Territories Archives provided copies of relevant archival materials as well as duplication services for photographs loaned to the project.

The Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute (GSCI) was established by the Gwich’in Tribal Council (GTC) as its cultural and heritage arm following the signing of the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement in 1992 as part of the establishment of a number of organizations to address the responsibilities outlined in the Agreement. The GSCI was also established to address concerns about the decline in Gwich’in language and culture. Beginning operation in September 1993, the GSCI was responsible for matters relating to Gwich’in heritage resources as outlined in the Agreement, specifically Chapter 25, and Chapter 9 of Appendix C which relates to the Yukon Transboundary Agreement. The Institute had a mandate “to document, preserve and promote the practice of Gwich’in culture, language, traditional knowledge and values.”

From 1993-2016, the GSCI operated as a non-profit organization under the GTC and had registered charitable organization status. It was governed by a Board of Directors made up of seven to eight representatives from the GTC and the Gwich’in communities of Aklavik, Fort McPherson, Inuvik and Tsiigehtchic. The GSCI was led by an Executive Director who reported to the GSCI Board of Directors. The GSCI’s first Executive Director was Ingrid Kritsch (1993-1998), followed by Alestine Andre (1998-2000), Grace Blake (2001-2002), Leslie McCartney (2002-2003), Dolly Carmichael (2004-2005) and Sharon Snowshoe (2005-2016). Among GSCI’s long term staff were Ingrid Kritsch (Executive Director 1993-1998, Research Director 1998-2016); Alestine Andre (Cultural Director 1994-1998, Executive Director 1998-2000, Heritage Researcher 2001-2016); Kristi Benson (TK Coordinator 2004-2006, Traditional Knowledge/Heritage/GIS Specialist 2007-2016); and Sharon Snowshoe (Executive Director 2005-2016). The GSCI operated multiple offices: a head office in Tsiigehtchic, a research office in Yellowknife, an Executive Director office and language office in Fort McPherson (the former from 2006-2016), and other outpost offices as needed. In April of 2016, the GSCI became the GTC’s Department of Cultural Heritage which continues the GSCI’s mandate and work within the Gwich’in Settlement Region.

The GSCI’s mandated responsibilities included documenting, preserving and promoting the Gwich’in language, conducting research on Gwich’in social and cultural heritage and developing related programming. In regards to the claim, GSCI’s responsibilities included implementing the heritage resources chapters of the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement which included the repatriation of Gwich’in heritage materials and knowledge, the recognition, protection and management of Gwich’in historic and cultural sites, and the nomination of Gwich’in place names for official recognition. Developing and implementing GTC policies relating to research including the GTC’s Traditional Knowledge Policy and the GTC Burial Sites Guidelines were also important responsibilities.

The GSCI worked with researchers, Gwich’in communities and organizations, other First Nations, government departments and agencies including museums and archives, independent filmmakers, and media outlets such as the CBC to develop, organize and conduct approximately 120 research projects, many of which were conducted on the land. Types of research projects the GSCI conducted or was involved with included oral history, place names and traditional knowledge projects, ethnoarchaeological projects, material culture revitalization and repatriation projects, genealogy projects, ethnobotany projects, ethnoastronomy projects, and Elder’s biography projects. The GSCI also conducted climate change projects related to impact on heritage resources, traditional knowledge research associated with major proposed development such as the Mackenzie Gas Project, and a variety of Species at Risk research projects. Science, culture and language immersion camps involving community members, youth, professionals and graduate students were also important educational initiatives carried out by GSCI. Language documentation and recording were integral to these projects and camps and they often involved audio or video recording of interviews, workshops and other events, as well as extensive photography. In addition, the GSCI contributed to the development of the Gwich’in Language Plan and worked with the Gwich’in Language Centre and was involved in its administration. This work generated many publications, including books, dictionaries and language materials, curriculum materials, a cybercartographic place names and story atlas and database, place name maps, posters, videos, museum exhibits, and online exhibits and resources.

The Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement outlined provisions and responsibilities for the GTC in regard to land use, archaeological and heritage resource permits, and a Traditional Knowledge Policy was created by the GTC and the GSCI to guide research in the Gwich’in Settlement Region. The GSCI was responsible for implementing the Traditional Knowledge Policy, among other polices, and for reviewing and regulating Gwich’in traditional knowledge research, developing research guidelines and consent forms, incorporating Gwich’in traditional knowledge into programming and policy and communicating the policy and the rights of Elders and participants with research participation. To these ends, the GSCI was involved in the development of a traditional knowledge policy that related to Gwich’in traditional lands in the Northwest Territories and Yukon, provided input into land use planning and management with other organizations, reviewed land use and research licence and permit applications, entered into research and data sharing agreements with researchers, assisted researchers, and received project and produced materials from researchers. Consequently, the GSCI became the major repository of all Gwich’in traditional knowledge research materials in the Gwich’in Settlement Region.

Under the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement, the Gwich’in Tribal Council and the Teetł’it Gwich’in (under the Yukon Transboundary Agreement) are to be consulted by government concerning cultural and heritage resources and matters. The GSCI was responsible for this consultation and engagement with government and engaged with departments, agencies, boards and commissions of the Government of Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Government of Yukon, plus Yukon First Nations in the transboundary areas. This consultation related to legislation, research, heritage, language, education and curriculum, funding and environmental protection.

Repatriation projects undertaken by the GSCI included the identification of Northern Athapaskan and Metis materials in national and international repositories, the repatriation of Gwich’in knowledge from the Dene Nation Mapping Project conducted in the 1970s and 1980s, and the repatriation of traditional skills and the creation of replicas of traditional 19th C. Gwich’in caribou skin clothing.

The GSCI’s work for the recognition, protection and management of Gwich’in historic and cultural sites included work with other Gwich’in organizations and governments in developing a vision and management plan of the Gwich’in Territorial Park and conducting oral history, place name, archaeology, and ethnobotany projects in the park. The GSCI also undertook burial site mapping and recognition projects and undertook nomination projects to have Gwich’in heritage sites and rivers designated as national and territorial historic sites and Canadian Heritage Rivers. These nominations came out of GSCI place name and oral history research projects, with the GSCI playing significant roles in the planning and management of these sites. The GSCI successfully nominated eight Territorial Historic Sites and one new National Historic Site and advocated successfully for the revision of the plaque text for the Fort McPherson Historic Site, already designated as a National Historic Site for its role in the fur trade, to include its importance to the Gwich’in. The cultural and heritage research the GSCI carried out also generated a comprehensive heritage inventory of culturally significant heritage sites and places in the Gwich’in Settlement Region that GSCI helped to recognize, protect, and manage in a manner consistent with Gwich’in values. This is being carried out through protective measures in the Gwich’in Land Use Plan and the designation of Territorial and National Historic Sites.

Isaac Seymour Hadwen was born on June 27, 1877 in Lees, England. Annie Hadwen was his mother, and his father, Gaylord Hadwen, was a textile manufacturer. When Dr. Hadwen was a young boy, his family moved to France for a few years where his father established a silk weaving business. The family immigrated to Canada in 1891 when Seymour was 14 years old. Dr. Hadwen attended McGill University between 1899 and 1902 and graduated with a D.V.Sc. in 1902. Upon leaving university, he joined the sixth Canadian Mounted Rifles and served as a Captain in South Africa. In 1904, Dr. Hadwen returned to Canada and became a veterinary inspector at West Kootenay, British Columbia. In 1906, he joined the biological laboratory of the Department of Agriculture at Ottawa. After a short time at the universities of Cambridge and Liverpool, he was appointed head of the Department of Agriculture's research laboratory at Agassiz, British Columbia. In 1917, he was promoted to Dominion Animal Pathologist.

Between 1920 and 1923, Dr. Hadwen studied the reindeer industry in Lapland for the United States Bureau of Biological Survey. Between 1923 and 1929, he was the professor of veterinary research at the University of Saskatchewan. From 1929 until his retirement in 1942, he was employed as the director of pathology at the Ontario Research Foundation. In this capacity, he spent much time researching reindeer and Eskimo dogs in the Northwest Territories. He also spent time in Alaska, Lapland and Finland studying reindeer herding. In 1945, in recognition of his contributions to science, Dr. Hadwen was made an honorary member of the Royal Society of Medicine. He was also a fellow of the Canadian and American Veterinary Medical Association, the Royal Entomological Society, and the Royal Society of Canada. Dr. Hadwen died on April 18, 1947.

Ole Hagen was born in Norway in 1888; he moved to Canada in 1914. He worked for the railways in Ontario and as a miner at Cobalt, Ontario. He first came to the Northwest Territories in 1928 and worked at locations such as Great Bear Lake and Yellowknife until the 1950s. Hagen and his partner Major L.A. Burwash, were the original prospectors at Negus. Mr. Hagen sold his shares at Negus and Great Bear Lake Mines in 1937 but continued to work in the north until the 1950s when he returned to Ontario. He died in 1961.

Ron and Bev Hall and their three young children lived in Wrigley (Pehdzeh Ki) from 1971-72. Ron was initially employed as a basic upgrading instructor under the Territorial Department of Education, but transitioned into community education and development under the Department of Local Government with the aim of establishing a settlement council, training settlement administrators, and implementing community programs for social and economic development. Bev was also active in the community, providing assistance in establishing a bilingual early childhood program, community library, handicraft industry, and coffee shop. She also served as a relief teacher. Their interest in Wrigley continued even after they left the community and they have made several return trips over the years.

Ben Hall was born in Birmingham, England, in 1918 and married Nancy Pratt in 1951. They immigrated to Ontario in 1957 and Ben joined the seminary that same year and became an Anglican priest. In 1963 he accepted a call from the Bishop of the Arctic and moved to Hay River, NWT. During Ben Hall's time in Hay River (1963-1970) he ministered to the residents of Hay River, Fort Providence, and Pine Point. He was very involved in Boy Scouts in the North as well. Ben left the NWT in 1970, and he passed away in 2009 in Grande Prairie, AB.

Beryl Lynette (Lyn) Hancock was born on January 5, 1938 in East Fremantle, Western Australia. She attended secondary school at Princess May School in Western Australia and attended the University of Western Australia between 1955-1957 where she received her diploma in Speech Arts and her Teachers' Certificate from Graylands Teachers College in 1956. She also attended the Trinity College the Royal Academy of Music in London, England where she studied Speech, Drama, Mime and Movement between 1959-1961. In 1977, she received her Teacher's certification from the British Columbia Department of Education. She also received her Bachelor of Education and Master of Arts degrees from Simon Fraser University in 1977 and 1981 respectively. Lyn Hancock moved to the Northwest Territories with her former husband David in 1972. While living in the NWT, she wrote and sold stories to newspapers and magazines such as Above and Beyond, Up Here, Northwest Explorer, Milepost, and Northern News Services; she also wrote and published several books about the North and took many photographs. In addition, Lyn worked with local tourism agencies and Government agencies to promote tourism and pass on her love of the North. She lived in Fort Simpson for seven years before leaving in 1995 with her husband Frank Schober. Lyn currently lives in British Columbia and travels extensively around the world. She has received several literary awards and is the author of over 30 books.

Sidney C. (Sid) Hanford was born in Birmingham, England, on March 3, 1905. After graduating high school, he participated in an engineering pupil apprenticeship program. Following the completion of the program, Sid Hanford worked at a mine power plant in Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela, for two years. He then returned to England and married Elizabeth. During this time, Sid Hanford worked installing movie theatre sound systems. The Hanfords then moved to Cyprus where Sid worked at a copper mine for the Cyprus Mines Corporation. Sid and Elizabeth’s first son, Howard, was born on December 18, 1934, and their second son, Gordon, was born on November 21, 1938.
As World War II progressed, the Hanfords left Cyprus for asylum in Canada. Between July 13 and October 22, 1940, the family travelled by boat, bus, and tramp steamers from Cyprus through Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Basra, Karachi, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan before arriving in Vancouver, British Columbia. In Vancouver, Sid Hanford worked as a draftsman at the Burrard Dry Docks, moved briefly to Trail, BC, and returned to Burrard Dry Docks to supervise the build of the North Sands cargo ships. Sid Hanford then worked as the plant engineer for a copper mine in Copper Mountain, BC.
In February 1945, Sid Hanford moved to Yellowknife and in April began work as the Master Mechanic at the newly opened Giant Mine, where he was in charge of surface installations, the operation of the steam plant, and repair and maintenance of machinery. Elizabeth, Howard, and Gordon followed Sid to Yellowknife later in the spring. The Hanfords spent the summer and fall in Yellowknife before moving back to Cyprus, where they stayed for three more years before they moved to Toronto, Ontario, in 1948. In Toronto, Sid Hanford worked for Canada Packers, first for the main production plant and then the multi-product plant until his retirement in 1970. Sid and Elizabeth spent their retirement first between summers in the Kawartha Lakes region of Ontario and winters in Florida, and later between Ontario’s Muskoka area and Florida. Sid died in 1987. Elizabeth died in 1994.

Sam Hansen, originally Knut Wiseth, grew up in Norway. He changed his name when he moved to Canada. He moved to Yellowknife in the late 1930s and stayed through most of the 1940s. Prior to moving to Yellowknife he lived in Goldfields, Saskatchewan and in the Great Bear Lake area.

David Alan Harrison was born July 17, 1940 to William Harrison and Evelyn Harrison, nee Fiddler in Leeds, Yorkshire England. Raised in northern England, he earned a BSc. in Geography in 1961 from Leeds University. He emigrated to Canada in 1961 to work as a meterological observer and graduate student at the McGill University Sub-Arctic Research Station at Knob Lake (Shefferville). On completion of his Master's degree in Geography in 1964 he worked for the Canadian federal government carrying out glacial geomorphologic research on Baffin Island. In 1966 he took teacher's training at McGill and was employed as a Geography Instructor at the University of Victoria, and a high school teacher in Dorval, Quebec.

In 1969 he returned north to Hay River, NWT where he taught at Diamond Jenness Secondary School. In 1970 he married fellow teacher, Dona Maria Murray. They made their home in Hay River, raising two children David Michael and John Martin. David A. Harrison taught at Diamond Jenness Secondary School from 1969-1996, specializing in geographic, social studies, and historical geography education. He published work in teachers' journals, magazines and academic journals on those topics as well. Along with teaching responsibilities, David was active in the NWTTA local, the Hay River Library Board, Cubs and Scouts, the Elder Hostel Programme, and worship and fellowship at St. Andrew's Anglican / Grace United Church.

David A. Harrison's education continued with a Master of Education from the University of British Columbia in 1977, and a PhD. in Geography from the University of Alberta in 1984. The thesis, "Hay River, NWT. 1800-1950: site and situation" was a culmination of research and work on the history of Hay River.

David A. Harrison was very active and committed to faith work throughout his life. Upon retirement after 30 years of teaching, David and Dona returned to her family's home in Tobago. There he became involved with lay leadership in St. Mary's Parish and was ordained decon in 2001 and priest in 2005.

Charles Robert Harrman was born in New York in 1897. He spent his summers from 1950 to 1960 in Rae. He retired to Rae in 1961, where he remained writing and painting until his death in 1967.

B.C. "Bart" Hawkins was born at Harrow, Ontario on June 30, 1933. He joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on January 14, 1952. Following training in Ottawa and Regina, he was posted to Vegreville, Alberta. While in Vegreville, he applied for northern duty and was transferred to Yellowknife on May 22, 1954. In December 1956, he was transferred to Port Radium as I/C (in charge) where he remained until July 1957.

On July 17, 1957, he married Catherine Marshall, who had been a nurse at the Yellowknife hospital. Following his marriage to Catherine, he was transferred as a married Constable to Fort Simpson, where he served from July 1957 until his transfer to Fort Liard in June 1958. In August 1958, Mr. Hawkins was posted to Hay River where his wife was ill in the Hay River Hospital. Following the death of his wife, he was granted compassionate transfer to Regina, Saskatchewan in order to better care for his infant son, Bruce Carlisle.

On September 17, 1960, he married Jean Baker and was subsequently transferred to several RCMP detachments in Saskatchewan. On december 26, 1961 his second son, Bradley Drew was born. He was promoted to Corporal in October 1962 and on May 12, 1964 returned to the NWT with a posting in Arctic Red River as I/C. Following the closure of the school in the fall of 1964, he was transferred to Fort Norman as I/C. He was transferred to Whitehorse, Yukon in July 1966, to Aklavik as I/C in April 1967, and returned to Whitehorse in June 1970. While in Whitehorse, he was promoted to Sergeant.

On July 17, 1971, he departed the north for Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba as I/C. He was subsequently transferred to Winnipeg General Investigation Section as second I/C. In August 1975, he was transferred to Brandon Sub Division West Section NCO and promoted to Staff Seargent. He remained in Brandon until his retirement from the RCMP on October 31, 1983. He accepted the position of Chief of Police of the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council Police Force, which he held until his retirement in December 1988.