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George Pappas was the proprietor of Yellowknife Bakery from 1950 to 1968. His sister, Esther Pappas, married Ken "Curly" McDonald, a Yellowknife prospector. Photos from Ken document his time at the Outpost Island mine. George Pappas married Helen Pappas (nee Thom), whose uncle was Art Umbach, the Yellowknife postmaster from 1942 to 1963. Art and Elsie Umbach had a son, Russell Umbach. George and Helen Pappas had a daughter, Lynn Carrier.

OutNorth was a non-profit organisation that aimed to provide support, awareness and advocacy for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community in Yellowknife.

In May 1997, OutNorth was registered under the Societies Act and held its first Board Meeting. Initial board members included Zoe Raemer, Andrea Markowski, Melissa Cousins, Heather Hay, and Nadine Scott. The volunteer-run group did not receive government funding, but raised funds privately, typically through silent auctions and membership fees. The group grew from about 35 members in 1997 to 60 in 1999.

The organization’s original mandate included the following objectives:
a) to offer philanthropic support to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered community of Yellowknife;
b) to educate its own membership regarding issues of particular interest to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgendered persons in Yellowknife;
c) to educate regarding the existence, positive contributions, of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgendered persons in Yellowknife;
d) to educate the public regarding homosexuality for the purpose of public enlightenment and acceptance of a diversely populated Yellowknife;
e) to organize and participate in social, artistic, literary and sporting events of interest to the Society's membership

OutNorth operated an information phone line, offered educational outreach with public schools and other organisations, and coordinated social events including Yellowknife Pride, Valentines parties, Halloween parties, movie nights, BBQs, potluck suppers, and glow bowling. In 1998, OutNorth successfully requested that Yellowknife City Council proclaim an official Gay Pride Day. (Other groups and individuals had requested this, unsuccessfully, in previous years)

One of the group's main activities was lobbying the Government of the Northwest Territories for family law revisions. Following changes to the NWT Adoption Act, Family Law Act, and Human Rights Legislation in the Northwest Territories, in the mid-2000s (ca. 2005-2007) the group reduced its activities and transferred its funds to It Gets Better Yellowknife, which became the Rainbow Coalition (now the Northern Mosaic Network).

Sam Otto was born in Morris Manitoba in 1907, one of a family of seventeen. In 1929, at the age of 22, he came to the Northwest Territories to search for gold as a prospector with Dominion Explorers in the Dubawnt Lake area, near the Thelon Game Sanctuary. He travelled far and wide, ending up paddling to Great Bear Lake, where he stayed without a break for four years. He worked for uranium mines and prospecting outfits in the Great Bear Lake region, sailing with the 'Great Bear' and mining for the B.E.A.R. mine at Contact Lake. In 1935 he pitched his first tent on Latham Island in Yellowknife, working at Burwash, Ptarmigan and Con mines, and continued to prospect. In 1937, he raised his first log cabin in the same area where he lived for the next four decades. Also that year, he received his trapper's license after the requisite four-year waiting period. Otto spent the better part of 14 winters at his 200-mile trapline, prospecting in the summer to supplement his income. In the fall (August/September) a plane would fly him out to his trapline near Artillery and Clinton-Colden lakes. The plane returned to pick him up in April. He had a main cabin, ran dogs, and did the rounds of his trapline. Sam Otto also spent one year (1942-1943) working on the Canol project. In 1952 he married Myrtle Ritchie of Edmonton and settled in Yellowknife, though he continued to prospect in the summer. Myrtle had three children from a previous relationship who came with her to Yellowknife: Sharon, Sherman and Sheldon; and in 1953 she gave birth to Lorraine. Myrtle stayed in Yellowknife, running the household, working at Imperial Oil, and expediting for Sam when he was in the bush. Sam died in Yellowknife in 1974. Myrtle remarried, became Myrtle McNeil, and lived in Grand Cache, Alberta. She passed away in Penticton, BC in 1994.

Charles Joseph-Eugène de Mazenod founded the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a Congregation of the Catholic Church, in France in 1815. In 1841, the first group of Oblates arrived in eastern Canada and by the late 1840s, they had taken their missionary work to western Canada. In an effort to introduce Christianity to the Indigenous people, they established missions in northern Saskatchewan and northern Alberta. The Oblates continued to expand the range of their work, pushed further northward, and eventually established missions along the Mackenzie River and on the arctic coast. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, a number of Oblate Fathers working in the Mackenzie Delta and arctic coast region, particularly Fathers Metayer and LeMeur, began recording the life stories and legends of local Elders and artists. Through the 1960s, 1970s and into the 1980s, the Oblates became involved in a number of other projects to document the history of the local Indigenous population. These projects included gathering genealogical information, traditional place names, and producing Indigenous language dictionaries. In the 1970s, Father LeMeur began working with CBC radio in Tuktoyaktuk. He hosted a radio show that featured legends and life stories of local residents. Often the broadcasts included both Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun and English translations of the same story. The radio show provided Father LeMeur with both a venue to broadcast the recordings already collected and a means of continuing the recording work.

Father William A. Leising, whose work was chronicled in the film “Arctic Missions of the Mackenzie,” which he narrated, died May 10, 2007, in Medford, Ore. Father Leising was born on March 31, 1913, in East Amherst to George and Mary Leising. He attended St. Mary School in Swormville, St. Jerome in Kitchener, Ontario, and St. Bonaventure College (now University). He also attended Blate College of Philosophy in Newburgh, and Oblate Seminary, Catholic University in Washington, D.C. He was ordained in 1940 in Washington by Cardinal Francis Spellman. From 1940 to 1965, Father Leising served as a missionary pilot, dentist and rescuer near Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. He also served as a chaplain to many mining companies. During this time he learned the Dëne Sųłıné (Chipewyan) language and served as a dog sled missionary. He spent his summers as a riverboat pilot and engineer, assisting the bishop on mission visitations. In 1965, after three bouts of hepatitis and a ruptured gall bladder, Father Leising moved to the Diocese of Belleville, Ill., where he directed a radio station.

The NWT Mining Heritage Society formed in February 2000 as the Giant Mine Heritage Group when concerned individuals from the Yellowknife community, government agencies, Spirit YK and the NWT Chamber of Mines joined together to formulate a plan for saving the history and artifacts of Giant Mine after the mine ceased operations in 1999. During the summer of 2000, a comprehensive inventory of the Giant Mine property was compiled and was approved by Miramar Mining one year later. The Giant Mine Heritage Group reformed in the summer of 2001 and changed their name to the NWT Mining Heritage Group to better reflect their objective of creating a museum or interpretive centre for mining in the Northwest Territories on the Giant Mine property. During 2001-2002, work proceeded in preparation for repairing buildings at Giant Mine. A cost assessment report by Ann Peters was completed early in 2001, which reported on the cost to rehabilitate the structures for public access. The group also hired engineer, Phil Nolan, of Structural All Limited, to report on how the buildings and equipment at the mine site could be repaired. Between 2000-2002, the group also acquired mining artifacts from abandoned mines throughout the NWT and by donation. In July 2002, the NWT Mining Heritage Group formed a registered society, the NWT Mining Heritage Society. The first annual general meeting was held September 25th, 2002 where the first Board of Directors was elected.

In 1976, an informal committee was organized by concerned citizens to act upon issues affecting disabled persons. The participation of NWT disabled athletes in southern competitions, a manual entitled "Resources for the Handicapped in Yellowknife" and a study of recreation services for the disabled in Yellowknife were some of the first projects undertaken by the committee. In 1978, a registered society was created, initially operating under the name the N.W.T. Council for the Disabled; the name was later changed in 1980 to the N.W.T. Council for Disabled Persons. The goals and objectives of the Council are: 1) to encourage disabled individuals to identify and express their needs for a personally satisfying lifestyle; 2) to identify and help maximize the resources available to disabled citizens to pursue their chosen lifestyle; and 3) to promote and lobby for rights and interests of persons with disabilities. The focus of the Council has shifted from sports and recreation for the disabled, to all issues affecting the needs and rights of disabled people in the Northwest Territories.

The NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and representing the mining industry. The years leading up to 1967 saw increasing attention directed towards government affairs in the Northwest Territories. As both the mining industry and government became aware of the need for a centre of contact that could represent the views of the mining industry, a group of interested individuals applied for a Charter to form the Northwest Territories Chamber of Mines. The original meeting held in February 1967, was chaired by Charles Vaydik and attended by several Yellowknifers. The Constitution and By-Laws were signed by Charles Vaydik, R.W. Spence, F.A. McCall, Norman W. Byrne and Mark M. de Weerdt, and witnessed by Carol Repchuk and Elizabeth R. Byrne.

The objectives of the NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines as outlined in the constitution: to encourage, assist and stimulate prosperous, orderly and environmentally responsible development and growth of mining and mineral exploration, in all modes and phases, in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada; to consider, study and discuss matters of public interest affecting the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and other parts of Canada in relation to mining and mineral exploration; to encourage, assist and undertake research and inquiries into matters relating to mining and mineral exploration, particularly in reference to the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada; to inform the public of matters relating to mining and minerals exploration particularly in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada; to cooperate with and seek the co-operation of all persons, associations, corporations and authorities, both public and private, to attain these objectives; and to be the leading advocate for responsible sustainable mineral exploration and development in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada.

The NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines elects a Board of Directors comprising 24 members. Executive positions of the Board are: President, Vice-President Northwest Territories, Vice-President Nunavut, Secretary/Treasurer and Past President. The Board of Directors meets as required to carry out the objectives of the organization.

The Chamber of Mines operates out of an office in Yellowknife, staffed by the Executive Director, Office Manager and Analyst, and an office in Iqaluit, NU staffed by the General Manager, Nunavut. The Chamber acts as the point of contact for the NWT & Nunavut Mining industry, researches current issues, arranges meetings, and assists in organizing special events including the annual Geoscience Forum and Nunavut Mining Symposium, NWT Mining Week, and the Chamber’s Annual General Meeting.

The NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines has the responsibility and mandate to represent the interests and concerns of the mining industry in theNorthwest Territories and Nunavut. The Chamber continues to address the major issues facing the industry, including: land alienation and single-use land withdrawals, increasing public awareness of mining’s substantial economic and social roles in northern development, mineral policy and legislation and environmental regulation, taxation issues, the long-standing need for a broader base of infrastructure support, and devolution of responsibility for mineral resources from the Federal to Territorial government.

The NWT Chamber of Mines publishes several promotional products and publications as well as a website. Services to members include use of a reference library, access to, and distribution of, government publications, and updates on mining legislation, land claims and other issues pertinent to the minerals industry.

Shortly after division of the Northwest Territories created the new territory of Nunavut in April 1999, the organization’s Board of Directors and members voted to change the Chamber’s name to “The NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines” to further express its representation of the mineral industry in both Territories.

The Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (WSCC) was established on April 1st, 2008 when new Workers' Compensation Acts came into force in both territories, changing the name of the corporation to WSCC from Workers' Compensation Board. In addition to the Workers' Compensation Act, the WSCC administers the Safety Act, Explosives Use Act, and the Mine Health and Safety Act.

The WSCC promotes safety in the workplace and operates an insurance system to compensate workers for wage losses due to accidents occuring during the course of employment. Its responsibilities include providing guidance and safety inspections, adjudicating claims, administering pensions, providing medical and vocational rehabilitation programs, collecting insurance premiums from employers, and managing its financial resources to ensure funds are available for payments.

The WSCC reports to the Legislative Assemblies of the NWT and Nunavut through the Ministers responsible for the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission, and is directed by a Governance Council composed of seven members appointed by the ministers. It is an arm's length government agency and is funded by assessments levied on employers rather than by appropriations from the Legislative Assemblies of the two territories.

The WSCC originally included the following divisions: Corporate Services, NWT Operations, Nunavut Operations, Prevention Services, Legal, Medical, Human Resources, Communications, and the President. In the summer of 2009 these divisions underwent a reorganization. NWT Operations was broken up and its operational functions were grouped with related administrative functions, while Nunavut Operations remained as the WSCC's branch in Iqaluit. The new divisions created in 2009 were Client and Central Services (responsible for human resources, claims services, and medical services); Revenue and Financial Services (responsible for financial administration and the assessment of employer contributions); and Corporate Communications and Planning Services. The Prevention Services and Legal Services divisions continued and the President division was renamed Executive Services. In 2010, the Corporate Communications and Planning Services division was divided into Information Services, with responsibility for information technology and records management, and Corporate Communications and Policy Services, with responsibility for communications, policy, and the Review Committee.

The divisions were reorganized again in 2012, separating operational and administrative units. Financial Services kept only its financial administration functions; human resource functions were merged with Information Services to form the Corporate Services division; Executive Services and Legal Services were brought together as the President's Office, and Corporate Communications and Policy Services was renamed Executive Services; and the client and employer services functions were brought together to form Stakeholder Services. In 2015, the Prevention Services division was also merged into Stakeholder Services.