INUVIK
Fred Carmichael is not one to brag about himself.

After he finished telling News/North about his induction into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame last week, his wife, Miki O'Kane, took the phone and promised it had been far more exciting than her husband had made out.

Fred Carmichael is seen after accepting the Order of Canada from then Governor General Michaelle Jean in Ottawa April 7. He gained recognition as a pilot, and later advocating for aboriginal independence as president of the Gwich'in Tribal Council. - photo courtesy of Sgt. Serge Gouin, Rideau Hall -

"Thirty or 40 people showed up just for Fred," she said the day after the ceremony June 9 in Ottawa. NWT MP Michael McLeod and former Inuvialuit Regional Corporation chief executive officer Nellie Cournoyea were among those gathered.

Carmichael himself was more circumspect.

"I went to Ottawa, and I walked across a stage," he said, joking.

"It was a great honour for me, it was a big thing. There was a lot of Northern support, lots of aviation and non-aviation people from the Yukon, the territories, and Alberta who had worked with me in the past ... It was good to see them in the crowd."

Carmichael said there were more than 400 people in attendance for the ceremony itself, which was held at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum outside the nation's capital, where himself and three other people were inducted into the hall of fame. Some of the inductees he had met before, others he knew through mutual friends.

"It was certainly quite an experience," he said, adding the inductees had been marched in with a pipe band. "I didn't realize it was going to be such a huge event."

In a statement released by Premier Bob McLeod, Carmichael is touted as not only a pioneer of the aviation industry in the North, but also a staunch advocate for self sufficiency in communities in the NWT.

"Fred Carmichael exemplifies the hard work and resiliency Northerners are known for," McLeod stated. "For more than six decades, Carmichael has spent his time in the cockpit of bush planes, moving residents and goods in and out of many of our remote Northern communities."

The premier praised the aviator for his dedication to creating employment for Northerners and inspiring young people to work towards their goals. Carmichael himself hopes his induction will serve to do just that.

"This represents what I've lived all my life, and I encourage others to follow that dream, whatever it is," he said. "If I had to do it all over again, I'd take the same path. I wouldn't change a thing."

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