Nunavut Construction is building the infrastructure for the Nunavut government. About 80 per cent of the people employed to build the infrastructure are Inuit.

"Everything is on schedule" with the building of Nunavut's infrastructure, Curley said.

During peak construction season, the corporation employs about 130 people. Next season that number should be higher, he said.

While an NWT cabinet minister and MLA, Curley, the founder of the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, was crucial in promoting economic development opportunities in Northern communities.

Amagoalik won for his long service to the Inuit people and for his role in the creation of Nunavut.

The Iqaluit resident was nominated by the Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce.

"It's always special to get recognition from your peers," Amagoalik, a former president of the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, said.

The lead negotiator for the creation of Nunavut and the Nunavut land claim agreement, Amagoalik said Nunavut has been his life for 24 years.

"(Implementation) is a bit behind schedule but there's nothing to panic about," he said.

"He has played such a pivotal role in the creation of Nunavut that we felt his accomplishments should be recognized at a national level," Baffin regional Chamber of Commerce president Rhoda Arreak said.

Curley and Amagoalik are among 13 individuals to win the award this year.

The National Aboriginal Achievement Awards were established in 1994 to recognize outstanding achievements by people of Inuit, First Nations and Metis ancestry.

The awards will be presented in Toronto March 12 at the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts. The awards presentation will be televised on CBC March 26 at 8 p.m.