After a fire in the family home, Fred Carmichael spent his youth living off the land and, at 12, he saw an airplane for the first time. He grew up to become the first Aboriginal person in the North to obtain a pilot's license, and went on to found two successful air transport companies. As a businessman, Native leader and chair of the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, he has been a driving force in obtaining increased autonomy for the Gwich'in and Inuvialuit people. He is legendary for flying volunteer rescue missions and for finding missing people after they had been given up for dead. He is a revered mentor and is highly respected by Native leaders throughout Canada for his innovation, commitment and accomplishments.