george hickes, mla (born 26 june 1946) is a politician in manitoba, canada. he has served in the legislative assembly of manitoba since 1990, and was the speaker of the assembly from november 1999 to october 2011. he is a member of the new democratic party. hickes is the father of nunavut politician george hickes, jr.,"iqaluit candidate george hickes jr. asks voters about their nunavut priorities". nunatsiaq news, october 2, 2013. and the uncle of nunavut politician hunter tootoo and hockey player jordin tootoo.frank landry, "tootoo's special to speaker", winnipeg sun, date not listed. ==early life and career== hickes was born to an inuit family near ports point in the northwest territories (now nunavut), and was raised in churchill, manitoba. his early years alternated between traditional inuit life and modern canadian society. he caught beluga whales in his youth (a long-standing tradition in inuit culture), and earned the nickname "coldwater cowboy" for working without the aid of nets. the descendants of whales caught by hickes can still be seen in several aquariums throughout the world.ilene k. grossman, "speaker george hickes", stateline, volume 14 number 1, january 2005. hickes worked as a heavy equipment operator at the tar sands project in fort mcmurray, alberta in the early 1970s, and held a variety of jobs in churchill during the same period.scott edmonds, "inuit mla first elected speaker in manitoba", globe and mail, 19 november 1999, a27. he joined manitoba's new careers program in 1976, and later acknowledged that this decision saved him from a life of poverty.donald campbell, "mla hickes says program saved him", winnipeg free press, 15 may 1993, city page and alice krueger, "axe falls on training program", winnipeg free press, 7 march 1995, city page. after graduating in 1978, hickes became a trainer and coordinator for new careers in winnipeg until 1984.treena khan, "city heritage cite celebrates history", winnipeg free press, 15 may 1994, city page. he later worked as executive director of the limestone training and employment agency near gillam, manitoba, and assisted in designing an education program for the yukon.[http://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/members/speaker.html the speaker of the house: george hi
1946_births Canadian_Inuit_people Inuit_politicians Living_people New_Democratic_Party_of_Manitoba_MLAs People_from_Churchill,_Manitoba Speakers_of_the_Legislative_Assembly_of_Manitoba