George Blondin was born at Horton Lake, north of Great Bear Lake, in May 1922, the son of Edward Blondin. In his early years George worked as a guide for surveyors on the Canol Pipeline project, and at Port Radium as well as a woodcutter, trapper and hunter. He later moved his family to the Yellowknife region and worked for Giant Mine. He served as Chief of the Deline (Fort Franklin) Band and as Vice President of the Dene Nation. He worked with the Dene Cultural Institute and wrote for northern newspapers, sharing political opinions and traditional stories, for which he was well known. George wrote several books on the Sahtu Dene, traditional medicine, and traditional stories, including 'When the World was New' (1990), 'Yamoria the Law Maker' (1997), and 'Trail of the Spirit: The Mysteries of Dene Medicine Power Revealed' (2006). In 1990, George Blondin was awarded the Ross Charles Award for Indigenous journalism, and in 2003 he was appointed a Member of Order of Canada for his work towards preserving the heritage of his people. George Blondin was married to Julie Blondin and had seven children: Evelyn, Ted, John, Tina, Georgina (Gina), Bertha and Walter (died in infancy). George died in 2008.
In the 1960s and 1970s, a group of concerned individuals began a project to record the legends and life experiences of the Inuvialuit, Gwich'in (Loucheux) and North Slavey (Hareskin) people. Two of the leaders of this project were Nellie Cournoyea and Oblate priest Father Lemeur. To help finance the project, a deal was arranged with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in Inuvik, where Nellie Cournoyea was working. The plan provided a small remuneration for the person interviewed to be paid out when the recording was broadcast. The recordings were intended to be used in various communities as research material for school curriculum, to preserve the legends and life stories of the elders and to help promote Indigenous language literacy.