Nearly five decades later, Gail Cyr still remembers the bustle and energy of Yellowknife’s Gold Range Hotel in the mid-1970s.
Everyone from the NWT’s commissioner on down was there, but only if they arrived early enough to secure a seat at the bar.
“I loved it. I loved working in the Gold Range,” Cyr says. “I was a barmaid, and we had to wear hotpants and high heels and carry 16, 15-ounce draft glasses, and your change purse and ashtrays, and a little wallet to hold the bills. I’ve got a very good strong left arm from that.”
From that first job as a waitress and barmaid, Cyr would launch a career that would take her across the territory during a period of rapid change. The Gold Range Hotel is still be standing at the same location on 50 street, but around it things have evolved dramatically in the city and in the territory since Cyr, now 69, arrived nearly 50 years ago. Not only was she present for many of these changes, in many cases she was at the forefront of making them happen.
After a tumultuous upbringing in the foster system in Manitoba, living in five different homes in as many years of life, Cyr came to the NWT in 1974 in search of better opportunities. That’s when she landed a job at the Gold Range.
Then, out of the blue, an opportunity presented itself to work for the Dene Nation, which was then called the Indian Brotherhood of the NWT.
“I just happened to be there at the right time and said, OK, I think I can do that,” she recalls.
Cyr found herself coordinating logistics for the first ever joint Métis-Dene assembly, which was convened to discuss comprehensive land agreements between the two nations and the federal government.
“I’m listening to some of the speeches and some of the presentations, and I’m going, ‘I’m watching history being created right now. And I think I’m going to hang around and see how it all works out.’ So that’s what made me stay and move here.”
The meetings were part of a years-long process that would result in the signing of the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement and Sahtu Dene and Métis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement.
In 1975, Cyr became the first executive director of the NWT Native Court Workers’ Association. With the shifting of administrative power in the territory from Ottawa to Yellowknife just several years earlier, the NWT’s legal system was in constant flux at the time.
“They were doing some fast and furious legislation,” says Cyr. “And of course, it was impacting people really fast and hard. The hunting, all those kinds of rights that you would have — town planning, all kinds of things. So people were really overwhelmed.
This was also a time of general fear and distrust of the legal system, especially in smaller communities, she recalls.
“People were too shy to go to court, so a lot of times people would just plead guilty and get it over with, because they were too scared of it,” she says. “And that’s what really concerned the justices, because they were concerned that people were accepting the guilty plea when they shouldn’t be.”
Through her organization, Cyr helped connect those in smaller communities with Indigenous legal experts who spoke their language and understood their culture.
While still working with the Native Court Workers’ Association, she was encouraged by many in Yellowknife to run for city council, winning a seat in 1984. At the time, she was the only Indigenous alderman on council.
Many of the decisions made during those 10 years are still resonating today, including the construction of both the curling rink and the Ruth Inch Memorial Pool — council had originally wanted to build one or the other — and the choice to preserve rather than develop Yellowknife’s Old Town.
Despite retiring in 2017, Cyr hasn’t slowed in her activism. As a commissioner for the NWT Human Rights Commission, she helps to spread awareness about the Human Rights Act across the territory, where violations related to housing and tenancy abound.
When Cyr received a letter informing her she would be appointed to the Order of Canada — awarded through the Governor General’s office — it was a full month before the public would learn of the honour on Dec. 29 of last year. Cyr says she’s especially proud to share the honour with former Saskatchewan senator Lillian Dyck, who was recognized for her advocacy on behalf of Indigenous peoples and racial minorities.
Because of the pandemic, a proper in-person ceremony has yet to take place.
Despite the radical changes of the past five decades, there are some respects in which her community hasn’t changed. About 15 years ago, Cyr slipped and fell while leaving the grocery store.
“I kind of just laid there for a bit thinking, ‘Did I hit my head. Did I break anything?’”
Instead of helping her up, passersby stepped over or around her.
“I’m sure they thought I was drunk. It’s the prevailing attitude, right? That’s when my hair was still dark, dark dark.”
However, she says she still doesn’t let those kinds of experiences faze her.
“You have to stand up for yourself. Don’t take this stuff — you gotta fight it.”