The Current Mace of the Northwest Territories
On April 1st, 1999, Nunavut became its own Territory - distinct from the Northwest Territories.
Our 3.5 million square kilometres was split, with 1.5 million kilometres remaining in the Northwest Territories, and 2 million belonging to the new Territory of Nunavut.
Nunavut became its own territory so that Inuit people could self-govern in their own language, Inuktitut, and keep their culture strong. Nunavut, which means “Our Land” in Inuktitut, also practices consensus government.
Step to the right to view the current mace of the Northwest Territories.
This mace was unveiled in January 2000. It is also a unique work of art.
The top of the mace is adorned with a 1.31 carat diamond — one of the first major gemstones mined from Canada’s first diamond mine, here in the Northwest Territories at the Ekati Diamond mine. Look closely and you’ll see that it rests on a silver crosspiece, made in the shape of 2 ulus
The half-circle shaped traditional skinning knife used by the Inuvialuit and Inuit.The ulus cross to form a tepee, which is a cone-shaped tent made of canvas and poles used by many Indigenous people. Inside the teepee, you’ll notice that there is a house cut into the centre. The house is representative of the non-indigenous people who live in the Territory. The teepee represents the Dene and Metis people and the ulu represents the Inuit.
The diamond rests inside a snowflake crown, which represents our ties to the British Monarchy, as well as the diversity and strength of the people of the NWT. As no two snowflakes are the same, no two people of the NWT are the same. Within the crown you’ll see a golden orb; this represents the midnight sun and the circle of life. The NWT has 11 Official Languages. There are examples on the wall to the right of the mace. Beneath the crown is a band of silver engraved with the phrase, “One Land, Many Voices” in ten of our 11 official languages. You may be wondering why one language, Inuktitut, was left off of the Mace. Since Nunavut’s creation, Inuktitut is no longer widely spoken in the Northwest Territories. However, it does remain an Official Language since some Speakers do remain in the boundaries of our territory. Below the band are 6 marble panels which came from the NWT and depict different aspects of Northern wildlife and cultures. The beadwork at the base of the head is done in the traditional Delta Braid pattern, created by elder Rosie Firth from Fort McPherson. The shaft of the mace is stylized like a Narwhal tusk. It pays homage to our shared history with Nunavut. Porcupine quillwork by Sarah Hardisty of Jean Marie River gives colour to the bottom of the shaft, and the silver foot is decorated with Northern landscapes. But perhaps what's most memorable about our mace is the sound it makes. It’s known as the “talking Mace”.
Inside the mace are pebbles collected from each of the 33 communities of the Northwest Territories. When the mace is lifted it makes a sound to represent the multitude of voices of the people of the Northwest Territories. This is the only mace in the Commonwealth that makes a noise.
The base on which the mace rests is also special. The white glacier-spun marble is from Great Slave Lake and represents ice and snow. The carving on the base shows Great Slave Lake, Great Bear Lake and the Deh Cho flowing up to the Mackenzie Delta. The circle of 33 gold nuggets were all mined in Yellowknife and they represent the 33 communities of the NWT. The circle shape represents our unique consensus government, as well as the connection between the communities of the NWT.
You may notice the circle is a theme found throughout the building. The small flowers are replicas of the mountain avens, our territorial flower. They each have Yellowknife gold in the center. The small rocks that you see come from the Northwest Territories and are over 4 billion years old. We have some of the oldest exposed rocks on planet earth in our Territory.