|
The Original Speaker's Chair
|
The Current Speaker's Chair
|
|
Sculpture above current Speaker's Chair
|
Speaker's Chairs
Back down the stairs and across the Great Hall, a piece of northern political history is on display. Speakers in the Legislative Assembly from 1975 to 1993 used the original Speaker's Chair shown to the right. A gift from the House of Commons and the Senate of Canada, the chair was retired in 1993 when the Legislative Assembly moved into its current permanent location.
Prior to the opening of this building, Members traveled to communities throughout the Northwest Territories and held sessions in community gymnasiums, halls and other facilities in an attempt to bring government closer to the people. The Speaker's chair accompanied the Members on every trip. It was dismantled and loaded onto a Hercules aircraft along with other equipment and supplies and shipped into communities for the sittings. The rock mosaic on top of the chair shows the original Coat of Arms of the Northwest Territories and features nine different stones from across Canada.
Located on each side of the original chair are two examples of robes worn by former Speakers of the Legislative Assembly. To the left, the robes of The Hon. Red Pedersen (Speaker from 1987-1989), who represented the Kitikmeot West constituency (now part of Nunavut), are shown. The black robes reflect the traditional dress of the Inuit in that area. To the right, the robes worn by The Hon. Donald Stewart (Speaker from 1980-1987), a Member from Hay River, are shown. The white robes feature moose hair tufting and seal skin are more representative of the Dene.
Also in this area is a glass display featuring the official symbols of the Northwest Territories including a 1.5 carat diamond from Canada's first diamond mine!
The current Speakers chair is displayed in the Chamber. The chair was designed in the shape of an ulu (A Northern knife with a curved blade mainly used by Inuit women). The handle is symbolized by the wooden desk in front of the chair, and the blade is symbolized by the glass around the back of the chair.
On the top of the Speaker's chair is a small gray carving. On the left hand side of the carving is the face of an elder. The rest of the carving shows the elder passing on traditional knowledge to future generations. This is essentially what the Members are trying to accomplish when they are in the Chamber.
|