Everyone's mom

A couple years back, my mom came to Inuvik for a visit. I took her for a tour around town and it seemed everywhere we went, people mentioned Nellie.

My mom asked “Who is this ‘Nellie’ everyone keeps talking about?”

I took her up to IRC and sure enough, Nellie was in the corner office and welcomed us in.

“Nellie, this is my mom,” I said. “Mom, this is Nellie – everyone’s mom.”

And she is. Nellie spends her days (and most nights) working for the betterment of people of Inuvik and the Beaufort Delta. Certainly Inuvialuit take a priority, but often times the good of the whole is the good of the part and Nellie realizes that.

Dealing with shrewd government and industry lawyers and the sometimes infantile politicians on a daily basis, Nellie has built an empire for Inuvialuit and in the process, a better life for all of us here.

While waiting for a flight one time with Nellie, I watched her take a call from Henry Sykes, then President of ConocoPhillips, hang up and make a call about securing enough dry fish for a community feast. This memory epitomizes Nellie to me; one of the most powerful women in the country, who can still make time for the little details that mean so much to those she represents.

So Happy Mothers Day to my mom and ‘everyone’s mom.’