François Paulette, O.C.
Fort Smith, Northwest Territories and Fitzgerald, Alberta
François Paulette is a respected Elder and member of the Smith’s Landing Treaty 8 First Nation. The youngest chief ever elected in the Northwest Territories, he led the campaign for the recognition of treaty and Aboriginal rights in the historic Paulette Case, and later led the negotiations between the Denesuline people and the federal government to settle outstanding treaty obligations. An adjunct professor at the University of Alberta, he is at the vanguard of Indigenous land-based pedagogy. He is also a distinguished advisor to the Institute of Circumpolar Health Research.