Gerald W. Kisoun (born 1953) is the

Commissioner of the Northwest Territories The commissioner of the Northwest Territories () is the Government of Canada's representative in the Northwest Territories. Similar in certain functions to a lieutenant governor, the commissioner swears in the members of the legislative assembl ...

since 2024. He was the deputy commissioner of the Northwest Territories from 2011 to 2017. He served as acting

commissioner of the Northwest Territories The commissioner of the Northwest Territories () is the Government of Canada's representative in the Northwest Territories. Similar in certain functions to a lieutenant governor, the commissioner swears in the members of the legislative assembl ...

between the retirement of George Tuccaro on 10 May 2016 and the appointment of

Margaret Thom Margaret M. Thom DStJ (born 1951) was the commissioner of the Northwest Territories. She previously served as the deputy commissioner of the Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, ...

in June 2017.

Personal life

Kisoun was born in 1953 in the Mackenzie Delta area and is of

Inuvialuit The Inuvialuit (sing. Inuvialuk; ''the real people'') or Western Canadian Inuit are Inuit who live in the western Canadian Arctic region. They, like all other Inuit, are descendants of the Thule who migrated eastward from Alaska. Their homelan ...

and Gwich'in heritage. Kisoun has four grown children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Biography

Kisoun was a member of the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

(RCMP) for twenty-five years, from 1971 to 1996, serving in

Tuktoyaktuk Tuktoyaktuk ( ; , ) is an Inuvialuit hamlet near the Mackenzie River delta in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, at the northern terminus of the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway.Montgomery, Marc"Canada now officially connected ...

and

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 ...

, Northwest Territories, as well as in Alberta and the Yukon. After retiring from the RCMP, he worked for 17 years with

Parks Canada Parks Canada ()Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 37 National Parks, three National Marine Co ...

, within the Western Arctic Field Unit, where he liaised with local schools and advocated for students’ science and cultural heritage education. 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. In 2015, Kisoun was awarded Canada's

Polar Medal The Polar Medal is a medal awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom to individuals who have outstanding achievements in the field of polar research, and particularly for those who have worked over extended periods in harsh climates. It w ...

; 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". In February 2016, Herbert Nakimayak made a Members' Statement in 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 ...

about Kisoun's cultural contribution.

Honours

Gerald Kisoun's full medal entitlement is as follows.

CAN 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal ribbon

References

External links

Commissioner Gerald Kisoun Biography
1953 births Living people Commissioners of the Northwest Territories 20th-century First Nations people 20th-century Inuit people 21st-century First Nations people 21st-century Inuit people Inuit from the Northwest Territories Inuvialuit people Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers Northwest Territories Deputy Commissioners Members of the Order of the Northwest Territories Canadian Gwich'in people People from Inuvik People from Tuktoyaktuk {{NorthwestTerritories-politician-stub