Ann Meekitjuk Hanson

Ann Meekitjuk Hanson (Inuktitut: ᐋᓐ ᒦᖀᑦᔩᒃ ᐦᐋᓐᓱᓐ/an miiqitjuk hansun) (born May 22 1946) is the Commissioner of Nunavut. She has been Commissioner since April 21 2005. Hanson like all Inuit born between the 1940s and the 1970s was labelled with a disc number by the Government of Canada, which, in her case was E7-121

She spent the first 11 years of her life speaking only Inuktitut and living in Qakutut and Kimmirut. She attended schools in Iqaluit, Baker Lake (Qamanituaq), and Toronto, where she was known as Annie Cotterill. She studied community development at St. Xavier University, geography at the University of Windsor and received a diploma with honors in journalism from Nunavut Arctic College.

Hanson's career has been diverse. She has been a civil servant, broadcaster, journalist and author. She has used her skills in Inuktitut throughout her career. Joining the federal government in 1964, she served as a secretary and interpreter/translator in the office of Nunatsiaq MP Gene Rheaume.

She joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a receptionist, later becoming an announcer and producer in Inuktitut broadcasting. Hanson was the first editor of the Iqaluit community newspaper Inukshuk, which later became Nunatsiaq News. She is the author of Show Me, a book written in Inuktitut and English.

In addition to her work in journalism, Hanson also served with the government of the Northwest Territories as a community development worker, counsellor and deputy commissioner.

Hanson has spent considerable time as a volunteer, helping to start a number of organizations in Iqaluit. These organizations include the Juvenile Court Committee, the Elders Group, the Inuit Cultural Group, and the Quinuajuaq Society.

Hanson lives in Iqaluit with her husband, Robert Hanson. They have five grown daughters.

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