New Canada Post stamp honours N.W.T.'s Nellie Cournoyea, 1st Indigenous woman to lead a Canadian government

An Inuvialuk woman from the N.W.T.'s Beaufort Delta region who blazed a political trail says she's honoured to have her face on a new Canada Post stamp — but says it's her community, not just her, that deserves recognition.

In the midst of Ulukhaktok's 50th Kingalik Jamboree, Nellie Cournoyea appeared in the community for a special ceremony Sunday to unveil the stamp. 

"It was really wonderful," Cournoyea told CBC News. 

"Most people nowadays don't think about stamps very much … [but] growing up, over the long years I've been on this earth, stamps were — and the post office was — very important."

Originally from the Aklavik area, Cournoyea is something of a legend in the Beaufort Delta. She was the first Indigenous woman to lead a provincial or territorial government in Canada, serving as premier of the Northwest Territories from 1991 to 1995. She also spent 20 years as chair of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, and gained a reputation for how hard she worked for her people.

But during a heartfelt speech at Sunday's event, Cournoyea didn't talk about her own accomplishments.

"I want to talk about this community right now. Everyone puts their feeling, puts their time, puts their effort — their own stamp on how our community is going to be," she told the crowd in Ulukhaktok.

"This is your stamp. I may have my face on it, but I'm only part of you. And when I think about things and how they should be, I think of you all the time."

The new stamp features a portrait of Cournoyea wearing a parka with a wolverine ruff. The stamp is one of three bearing the images of Indigenous leaders that Canada Post says it plans to release on June 21.

The postal operator is also issuing stamps paying tribute to B.C. Indigenous leader George Manuel and Alberta Indigenous leader Thelma Chalifoux.