[1] He attended Sir John Franklin High School in Yellowknife and then a technology college in Alberta.
[2] In 1978, Lyall was elected president of the Ikaluktutiak Co-op in Cambridge Bay.
Later in the 1970s he became a director of Canadian Arctic Producers, a native owned arts and crafts wholesaler.
[3] He was the vice-president and president of the Arctic Cooperative, a position he has held for several years, and represented the communities of Kugluktuk, Cambridge Bay, Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak, Kugaaruk (all in Nunavut) and Ulukhaktok (Northwest Territories).
[3] In 2002, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal[5] and in 2003, he was made a member of the Order of Canada in recognition of his work with the Arctic Cooperative.