William Lyall (born 1941 in

Fort Ross Fort Ross ( Russian: Форт-Росс, Kashaya ''mé·ṭiʔni''), originally Fortress Ross ( pre-reformed Russian: Крѣпость Россъ, tr. ''Krepostʹ Ross''), is a former Russian establishment on the west coast of North America i ...

- 28 December 2021), known as Bill Lyall, of

Cambridge Bay Cambridge Bay ( Inuinnaqtun: ''Iqaluktuuttiaq'' Inuktitut: ᐃᖃᓗᒃᑑᑦᑎᐊᖅ; 2021 population 1,760; population centre 1,403) is a hamlet located on Victoria Island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is the largest settl ...

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...

, Canada, was a territorial politician. Lyall was elected to the

8th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly The 8th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly was the 15th assembly of the territorial government. The assembly lasted from 1975 until 1979. This was the first all elected council of the Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (ab ...

in the 1975 election. Lyall grew up in

Taloyoak Taloyoak or Talurjuaq ( Inuktitut syllabics: ᑕᓗᕐᔪᐊᖅ ), formerly known as Spence Bay until 1 July 1992, although the body of water on which it is situated continues to be known as Spence Bay — same as the body of water on which I ...

, known then as Spence Bay,

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

, one of ten children of Ernie and Nipisha Lyall. He attended Sir John Franklin High School in

Yellowknife Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the ...

and then a technology college in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. After returning to Taloyoak, he later moved to Cambridge Bay. In 1975, he was elected to the NWT Legislature. He ran again in the 1979 election, as did his younger brother Bobby Lyall, but the election was won by Kane Tologanak. In 1978, Lyall was elected president of the Ikaluktutiak Co-op in Cambridge Bay, a position he still holds. By 1993, he had helped the Co-op grow from $300,000 in assets to $2.3 million. Later in the 1970s he became a director of Canadian Arctic Producers, a native owned arts and crafts wholesaler. In 1981, he helped form the Arctic Co-operatives Limited, a merger between the Canadian Arctic Co-operative Federation and Canadian Arctic Producers.National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation
/ref> He is the current vice-president and former president of the Arctic Cooperative, a position he has held for several years, and represents the communities of

Kugluktuk Kugluktuk (, ; Inuktitut syllabics: ; ), formerly known as Coppermine until 1 January 1996, is a hamlet located at the mouth of the Coppermine River in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada, on Coronation Gulf, southwest of Victoria Islan ...

, Cambridge Bay,

Gjoa Haven Gjoa Haven (; Inuktitut: Uqsuqtuuq, syllabics: ᐅᖅᓱᖅᑑᖅ , meaning "lots of fat", referring to the abundance of sea mammals in the nearby waters; or �ʒɔa evən is an Inuit hamlet in Nunavut, above the Arctic Circle, located in the ...

, Taloyoak,

Kugaaruk Kugaaruk ( Inuktitut syllabics: ᑰᒑᕐᔪᒃ ''Kuugaarjuk'' or ᑰᒑᕐᕈᒃ ''Kuugaarruk''; English: "little stream") (also called ''Arviligjuaq'', meaning "the great bowhead whale habitat"), formerly known as Pelly Bay until 3 December 1 ...

(all in Nunavut) and

Ulukhaktok Ulukhaktok (Kangiryuarmiutun (Inuit language) spelling ''Ulukhaqtuuq'' () and known until 1 April 2006 as ''Holman'' or ''Holman Island'') is a small hamlet on the west coast of Victoria Island, in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, ...

(Northwest Territories). In 1992, he was awarded the

125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal The 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal (french: Médaille commémorative du 125e anniversaire de la Confédération du Canada) is a commemorative medal struck by the Royal Canadian Mint to commemorate the 125th anniversary of ...

and in 1994 he won the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, now the Indspire Awards, for business. In 2002, he was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'or de la Reine Elizabeth II) or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee Medal (2002)
/ref> and in 2003, he was made a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the c ...

in recognition of his work with the Arctic Cooperative.Order of Canada
/ref> He received the

Order of Nunavut The Order of Nunavut (french: Ordre du Nunavut, iu, ᓄᓇᕗᒻᒥ ᐃᓕᓴᖅᓯᔾᔪᑦ ᐅᔭᒥᒃ, italic=no, translit=Nunavumni Ilisaqsijjutujamik, ikt, Nangariyauyunut Nunavunmi) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian territory ...

in 2015. Lyall was also vice-chair of the Nunavut Implementation Commission.

References

External links

Campaigning on brotherly love from CBC
a video clip of Bill and Bobby Lyall {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyall, Bill 1941 births 2021 deaths Inuit politicians People from Taloyoak Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories Inuit from the Northwest Territories Indspire Awards People from Cambridge Bay Inuit from Nunavut Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of Nunavut