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The Great Hall
Enter the building and you will find yourself in the Great Hall of the Legislative Assembly, or the "meeting place for people." This space opens the building to the people of the Northwest Territories and is used for numerous public events including awards ceremonies, graduations, fashion shows
and weddings. The Great Hall is also a popular location for school children to demonstrate their special skills and talents for Members of the Legislative Assembly and the public at large.
Floor to ceiling windows allow an abundance of natural light to flow into the building, particularly in the summer when many areas of the territory bask in nearly 24 hours of daylight.
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The Great Hall - shot from the Front Door
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Sculpture of the North
located in the Great Hall
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The Great Hall - Side Shot
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The Mace(s) of the Legislative Assembly
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The Original Mace
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The New Mace
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The new mace was unveiled at the start of the 14th Legislative Assembly in January 2000. The Mace is more reflective of the Northwest Territories following division of the territory on April 1, 1999. Designed by Bill Nasogaluak, Dolphus Cadieux and Allyson M. Simmie, the Mace is truly unique in many aspects of its design.
Composed mainly of silver and bronze the mace measures 1.5 metres in length and weighs 12 kilograms. The top glistens with a snowflake crown symbolizing the strength and diversity of the people and the traditional link with the British monarchy. Nestled within the snowflake crown, a golden orb represents the midnight sun, the circle of life and the world. On top of the orb sits a silver crosspiece that together forms an ulu, a tipi and a house representing the cultures of the territory - Inuvialuit, Dene/Metis and the many non-aboriginal people. On top of the crosspiece sits a 1.31-carat northern diamond.
Beneath the crown rests a band of silver engraved with the words "one land, many voices" in 10 of the languages used in the NWT. Below the band are six high relief panels inlaid in silver that depict northern wildlife and cultures. A band of beadwork resembling Delta braid is found beneath the head.
The shaft of the mace is a bronze cast of a stylized narwhal tusk honoring the history of our government and our ties with Nunavut. Further down the shaft a band of porcupine quillwork shows another aspect of Dene/Metis heritage.
The final section features a six-sided foot of silver carved in shallow relief depicting the entire landscape of the Northwest Territories from north to south.
The most unusual feature of this mace is its sound. Within the language band, the shaft and the foot are tiny pebbles collected from the 33 communities in the NWT. When moved, the shifting of the pebbles creates a magical sound similar to a rainstick. This sound represents the united voices of the people.
When not in use the mace rests in the stand you see here. Made of white marble to symbolize the snow that is so much a part of northern life, the image of the mighty Mackenzie River and Great Slave and Great Bear lakes is carved. Also carved are images of the territorial flower, the mountain aven, in silver and NWT gold surrounded by clusters of the oldest rock in the work (3.962 billion years old). Between the two lakes are 33 nuggets of northern gold representing the strength and unity of the 33 communities in the NWT.
Right next to the new mace hangs the retired replica mace of the Assembly. Councils and Legislative Assemblies of the Northwest Territories from 1959 to 1999 used this mace. This Mace is a replica of the original Mace that was designed by nine Inuit artisans from Cape Dorset and presented to the Northwest Territories Council in 1956.
Carved from whalebone, sections of the original Mace began cracking and it was feared that it would be ruined so in 1959 this replica Mace was put into use. The replica Mace very closely resembles the design of the original Mace however it is made of gold-plated brass making it much more durable. The replica Mace was retired following the dissolution of the 13th Legislative Assembly in October 1999.
On the original Mace, the crown at the top is made of copper from the shores of the Arctic Ocean and the orb, resting on top of the crown, is made from whalebone left on the shores of Baffin Island by Scottish whalers more than 100 years ago. A circlet of bowhead whales is carved below the crown with four musk-ox horns curving out from beneath the circlet. Discs of pure gold from Yellowknife mines are spaced between them and midway down is a circular carving depicting the people and animals of the Arctic. A narwhal tusk forms the shaft of the Mace and the foot is topped by a carved piece of oak from the wreck of Sir William Perry's ship, the HMS Fury. Two bands of porcupine quillwork from Fort Providence lend color to the mace. The final section of whalebone is carved in the form of seals. The original Mace is now in storage at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife.
The Great Hall and Mace Movies
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Movie #1
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Movie #2
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To navigate this panoramic movie, you can either click and drag with your mouse on the image (drag left to right or up and down) or you can click on the icons in the tool bar below the movie to zoom in or zoom out.
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