Gerald Kisoun Explained

Honorific Prefix:The Honourable
Gerald Kisoun
Honorific Suffix:KStJ ONWT
Office:Commissioner of the Northwest Territories
Term Start:May 14, 2024
Predecessor:Margaret Thom
Primeminister:Justin Trudeau
Birth Place:Northwest Territories, Canada

Gerald W. Kisoun (born 1953) is the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories since 2024. He was the deputy commissioner of the Northwest Territories from 2011 to 2017.[1] He served as acting commissioner of the Northwest Territories between the retirement of George Tuccaro on 10 May 2016 and the appointment of Margaret Thom in June 2017.[2]

Personal life

Kisoun was born in 1953 in the Mackenzie Delta area and is of Inuvialuit and Gwich'in heritage.

Kisoun has four grown children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.[3]

Biography

Kisoun was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for twenty-five years, from 1971 to 1996, serving in Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik, Northwest Territories, as well as in Alberta and the Yukon. After retiring from the RCMP, he worked for 17 years with Parks Canada, within the Western Arctic Field Unit, where he liaised with local schools and advocated for students’ science and cultural heritage education.[4]

Kisoun has served on various boards and committees, including the Northwest Territories Tourism Board, the Gwich’in Land and Water Board, the Gwich’in Land Use Planning Board, the RCMP Commanding Officers’ Indigenous Advisory Committee, and the Board of the Inuvik Community Corporation’s Elders Committee. He has also dedicated time to the Muskrat Jamboree Committee and the Northern Games Society, most recently as its President and Chair.[5]

In 2015, Kisoun was awarded Canada's Polar Medal; in the citation he was described as a "well-respected Elder" who had "worked tirelessly at strengthening the awareness and understanding of northern Canada and its peoples".[6]

In February 2016, Herbert Nakimayak made a Members' Statement in the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories about Kisoun's cultural contribution.[7]

Honours

Gerald Kisoun's full medal entitlement is as follows.


Ribbon Description Notes
Order of St John (K.StJ)
  • Knight of Justice.
  • Vice Prior of the Order in the Northwest Territories
Order of the Northwest Territories (OWNT)
  • 2024.
  • 2015.
  • 1992.
  • 2012.
  • Canadian Version of this Medal.
  • [8]
  • With 25 year Bar

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gerald W. Kisoun Deputy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories . Government of Northwest Territories. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20171107055332/http://www.commissioner.gov.nt.ca/deputy/. 31 October 2017 . 7 November 2017 .
  2. News: Wilkinson. Cameron. Dene nation congratulates new commissioner of NWT. 31 October 2017. My YellowknifeNow. 16 June 2017.
  3. News: O'Connor. James. Inuvik's Gerry Kisoun is new Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. 12 July 2024. CKLB Radio. 19 April 2024.
  4. Web site: Inuvik elder Gerry Kisoun to be the N.W.T.'s next commissioner. CBC. 12 July 2024.
  5. Web site: Biography: Gerald W. (Gerry) Kisoun. Prime Minister's Office. April 19, 2024. July 12, 2024.
  6. Web site: Inaugural Presentation Ceremony of the Polar Medal. Governor General of Canada. 31 October 2017. 2015.
  7. Web site: Herbert Nakimayak on Recognizing The Cultural Contribution Of Gerald Kisoun. Hansard. OpenNWT. 31 October 2017.
  8. Web site: Gerald W. (Gerry) Kisoun's Diamond Jubilee Medal Citation . The Governor General of Canada . 12 July 2024 . en.