Stephen Kakfwi (born 1950 in

Fort Good Hope Fort Good Hope (formerly ''Fort Hope'', ''Fort Charles'', also now known as the ''Charter Community of K'asho Got'ine''), is a charter community in the Sahtu Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is located on a peninsula between Jack ...

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

) is a Canadian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, who was the ninth premier of the Northwest Territories. His sixteen-year tenure in the cabinet of the Northwest Territories is the longest in the Territories' history.

Early life

Stephen Kakfwi was born on 1950 in a traditional

Dene The Dene people () are an Indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal, subarctic and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages and it is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term ...

bush camp at Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories to full-blooded

Slavey The Slavey (also Awokanak, Slave, and South Slavey) are a First Nations in Canada, First Nations group of Indigenous peoples in Canada. They speak the Slavey language, a part of the Athabaskan languages. Part of the Dene people, their homeland ...

parents. His parents were non-status Slavey due to his grandfather waiving his

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in order to own property and run a fur-trading business. At an early age, Kakfwi was sent away to residential schools in

Inuvik Inuvik (''place of man'') is the only town in the Inuvik Region, and the List of municipalities in the Northwest Territories, third largest community in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located in what is sometimes called the Beaufort Delta Re ...

Yellowknife Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the 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 outlet of t ...

and Fort Smith. During the 1970s, Kakfwi attended the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

to complete a teacher's degree, but early in that decade he returned to his Fort Good Hope community during a time in which many Aboriginal Canadians were beginning to organize politically to demand recognition of their land and self-government rights.Stephen Kakfwi - Biography
- Kakfwi and Associates (accessed 2010-01-08).
-

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

(accessed 2015-08-04).

Political career

In the 1970s the

Mackenzie Valley Pipeline The Mackenzie Valley Pipeline, also called the Mackenzie River Pipeline, was a proposed project to transport natural gas from the Beaufort Sea through Canada's Northwest Territories to tie into gas pipelines in northern Alberta. The project was ...

was proposed. Kakfwi identified the danger this proposal posed to his community's homeland, and fought tirelessly against the proposal, organizing groups of

and

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

. Eventually, the

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established the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, commissioned by Justice Thomas R. Berger. The 1977-8 recommendations against building a pipeline through the

for the time being were considered by Kakfwi as a "political badge of honour". In 1980 Kakfwi ran against Georges Erasmus for the Dene leadership, but lost. In 1983, Kakfwi again ran for the position of President of the

Dene Nation The Dene people () are an Indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal, subarctic and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages and it is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term ' ...

and won, as Erasmus, his 1980 opponent, had been elected grand chief of the Assembly of First Nations. As President of the Dene Nation, Kakfwi established both the Northwest Territories Dene Cultural Institute and Indigenous Survival International (the latter was focused on hunting rights, particularly in the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

). He also aided in land rights efforts and helped to develop a framework for land claim negotiations. In 1984 and 1987,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

had scheduled visits to the

, an effort made possible by the work of Kakfwi. Although the 1984 visit was subsequently cancelled due to poor weather, Kakfwi continued to campaign for a visit in 1987. In 1987, Kakfwi was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, or Legislative Council of the Northwest Territories (with Northwest hyphenated as North-West until 1906), is the legislature and the seat of government of Northwest Territories in Canada. It is a u ...

, representing the constituency of

Sahtu The Sahtú or North Slavey (historically called ''Hare'' or ''Hareskin Indians'') are a Dene First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group living in the vicinity of Great Bear Lake (''Sahtú'', the source of their nam ...

, of 254,000 square kilometres in area. During his sixteen-year tenure in the Legislative Assembly, ending in 2003, Kakfwi played key roles in initiatives ranging from economic development by encouraging the creation of diamond cutting and polishing industries in close proximity to local diamond mines, through to his promotion of Aboriginal rights, especially during his term as

Premier of the Northwest Territories The premier of the Northwest Territories is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian territory of the Northwest Territories. The premier is the territory's head of government, although the powers of the office are considerably ...

from 2000 to 2003. His sixteen-year tenure in the cabinet of the Northwest Territories is the longest in the Territories' history. Kakfwi continues to play an active role in the development of the

through his advisory position to

WWF Canada World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada) is one of Canada's largest conservation organizations and is a member of the WWF global network, actively contributing to the protection, management, and restoration of the environment. The WWF's name r ...

. In 2014, he founded

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, a coalition with a goal to build a new partnership between First Peoples and all Canadians. In 2017, Kakfwi was appointed by Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

to serve on the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Advisory Board. The board's mandate was to recommend a successor to Chief Justice

Beverley McLachlin Beverley Marian McLachlin (born September 7, 1943) is a Canadian jurist and author who served as the 17th chief justice of Canada from 2000 to 2017. She is the longest-serving chief justice in Canadian history and the first woman to hold the ...

before her retirement later that year.

Awards

In 1997, Kakfwi was awarded the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for public service for his leadership role in Northern Canada. In October 2013, he was awarded the Governor General's Northern Medal by

David Johnston David Johnston or Dave Johnston may refer to: Politics *David Johnston (governor general) David Lloyd Johnston (born June 28, 1941) is a Canadian academic, author, and statesman who served as the 28th governor general of Canada from 2010 to ...

Personal life

Kakfwi is married to Marie Wilson and has three children and four grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kakfwi, Stephen 1950 births Living people 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories 20th-century First Nations people 21st-century First Nations people Dene people First Nations politicians Indspire Awards Premiers of the Northwest Territories