Simonie Michael

(1933–2008) was a Canadian politician from the eastern Northwest Territories

(later Nunavut) who was the first Inuk elected to a legislature in Canada. Before
becoming involved in politics, Michael worked as a carpenter and business
owner, and was one of very few translators between Inuktitut and English. He
became a prominent member of the Inuit co-operative housing movement and a
community activist in Iqaluit, and was appointed to a series of governing
bodies, including the precursor to the Iqaluit City Council. He became the first
elected Inuk member of the Northwest Territories Legislative Council in 1966,
where he worked on infrastructure and public health initiatives. Michael is
credited with bringing public attention to the dehumanizing effects of the disc
number system, in which Inuit were assigned alphanumerical identifiers in place
of surnames. Michael helped prompt the government to authorise Project
Surname, which replaced the disc numbers with names.