Elizabeth Vittrekwa elected mayor of Fort McPherson, N.W.T.
Fort McPherson, N.W.T., has a new mayor and council after a long-awaited election Monday.
Elizabeth Vittrekwa defeated three other candidates to become the hamlet's new mayor. She says her priorities are getting infrastructure upgraded, including the arena and curling rink "basically to have more activities for our residents, and that will help them become stronger in all aspects."
Leadership runs in her family. Vittrekwa's father Charlie Snowshoe is a respected Gwich'in leader and her brother Norman Snowshoe is former vice-president of the Gwich'in Tribal Council.
She said politics was a part of her life growing up and "always at the dinner table."
"I don't think I could ever fit his shoes," she says of her father. "We have had wonderful leaders coming out of Fort McPherson."
Vittrekwa will be sworn in as mayor in March.
Eight hamlet councillors were also elected from 10 candidates.
The community has been without a hamlet council since 2014, when the N.W.T. government took away the council's governing powers after it ran up a $2 million deficit.
After the debt was wiped out, an election was scheduled for December 2016 but was postponed when the N.W.T. government found two of the candidates were ineligible.
