Judy Gingell, nee Smith Äkhwäda (b. 1948)
Judy Smith was born on her grandfather’s trapline at Alaska Highway Mile 710 to Annie and former Kwanlin Dun chief Johnnie E. Smith. She attended the Whitehorse Baptist Mission School from 1951 to 1960 and Yukon Hall in 1960 and 1961.1) She went on to Selkirk Street Elementary School and the Yukon Vocational School. In 1969, she was the first manager of the Whitehorse Indian Band.2)
Judy was a founding member and travelled to Ottawa as an executive of the Yukon Native Brotherhood to present Together Today for Our Children Tomorrow, a Statement of Grievances and an Approach to Settlement by the Yukon Indian People to Prime Minister Trudeau.3) The document started a thirty-year negotiation that resulted in a comprehensive treaty for most Yukon First Nations.
Judy served on the executive council of the Yukon Indian Women’s Association in the 1970s and 1980s. She was a founding member of the Northern Native Broadcasting (NNB) in the Yukon. She was elected president of the Yukon Indian Development Corporation in 1980 and was chair of the Council for Yukon Indians from 1989 to May 1995.4) She signed the Umbrella Final Agreement with Yukon government leader John Ostrachek and Indian Affairs and Northern Development minister Tom Siddon. Gingell was the chair and CEO of Kwanlin Dün Development Corporation. The corporation operates at arm's length from the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and manages such things as commercial properties and looks for business partners and joint ventures. Gingell has been involved with the Yukon Indian Women's Association since its inception in 1973.5)
Judy Gingell was Yukon’s first Indigenous Commissioner from 1995 to 2000. Some documents she had to sign related to First Nation laws and land selection. Her priority was to bring First Nation people to the forefront of Yukon society. During her term, she initiated the Commissioner’s Potlatch and invited many First Nation dignitaries to the Commissioner’s Ball. The Hän dancers performed a welcome song at the Commissioner’s Tea. A Lieutenant Governor Conference was held at the Potlatch House at Kwanlin Dün. She also had original ceremonial clothing made for special events. Gingell received a standing ovation at the end of her five-year term.6)
In 2009, Judy Gingell was made a Member of the Order of Canada for her contributions to the promotion and advancement of Indigenous rights and governance in Yukon.7) Gingell was one of the first ten inductees into the Order of Yukon on New Year’s Day in 2020.8)