NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Friends and colleagues say Lana Roeland, a former Northwest Territories resident who died April 18, will be remembered for her ability to inspire others.

Lana Roeland will be remembered as an inspiration and a role model who helped to shape the professional and personal lives of many Northerners. Roeland died on April 18. She was 44. - NNSL file photo

Roeland came to the Northwest Territories in 1991 to live in Gameti as the general manager of the Gameti Development Corporation. She then became the band manager of the Gameti First Nation. She moved to Yellowknife in 2002 and lived there until 2011.

While in Yellowknife, Roeland was the general manager for I & D Management Services. It was in this role that she hired Sarah Hunt, who said Roeland went above and beyond to help her transition to life in the North.

"She brought me up here, when she did so, she treated me as if I was a sister of hers, a family member," Hunt said. "I didn't know anyone and she really took me under her wing as well. She's the full reason that I'm where I am today in my career."

Hunt is now the human resources manager at Tli Cho Logistics, where Roeland became general manager.

Hunt said Roeland had a unique ability to match her giving personality with her role as an employer and co-worker.

"Lana was very full of life, always laughing, very professional though," she said. "She was someone who, both on a personal and on a professional level, she just welcomed you into her heart and taught you and mentored you and she had a way of making people - regardless of who they were or where they were from, or what skill level they were at - she made them feel like they were important and appreciated and had potential."

It was her gift of seeing the promise in others that made Roeland a special employer and friend, Hunt said.

"She was very well able to see the potential in people that others didn't," she said. "There are a number of people in the North that have grown both professionally and personally as well and matured because of her guidance. She was a role model for a lot of people."

Roeland was born in Winnipeg Oct. 6, 1969 and grew up in Ile-des-Chenes. She attended the University of Winnipeg.

In addition to her work, Roeland volunteered for a variety of organizations in the territory, such as the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, the Northwest Territories Tourism Association and the Yellowknife Homelessness Coalition. She also spent seven years on the national executive for the Liberal Party in Canada, and was former president of the Western Arctic Liberal Association.

Hunt said Roeland was known for her work with the Tlicho people.

"As a leader, she was certainly someone that made an impression on the North," she said. "She was committed and dedicated to the Tlicho people and the Tlicho communities."

Hunt said Roeland left a void when she moved from the territory in 2011.

"I think we all felt a loss at that point when she left the North a couple of years ago," she said.

Alex Nitsiza was president of I & D Management Services when Roeland joined the company. He said her work ethic impressed him.

"She was a hard working lady," he said. "She worked a long time for First Nations."

Nitsiza worked with Roeland again when he became a chairperson with the Tlicho Investment Corporation. He said Roeland was a caring person who always found a way to lend a hand.

"She was very helpful, she was willing to have time to help," he said.

Nitsiza said he hopes Roeland's family knows people in the NWT will cherish the time they spent with her.

"When it comes to a situation like this, it's not easy to take bad news," he said. "But there are thoughts and prayers for her family that might be taking it hard."

Roeland's funeral was held on April 25 in Ile-des-Chenes. A memorial service is scheduled to be held in Yellowknife today at the Northern United Place Auditorium from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

She is survived by her husband, Morris Dzus, daughter Hannah Paulson and two step-daughters, Kristen Tanche and Josanne Tanche.

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