Human Rights leaders recognized with Good Relations Award

New awards recently handed out by the Advancement of Aboriginal Women along with the Aboriginal Commission for Human Rights and Justice are aimed at bringing more recognition to some startling statistics.

 “Alberta has the second highest rate of missing and murdered Aboriginal women. This is just unacceptable, but it takes a community to stop these trends,” said Danielle Voyageur, event coordinator at IAAW.

Raising continued awareness about murdered and missing Aboriginal women inspired the Social Justice Awards which were given to eight recepients during a March 30 ceremony in Edmonton.

The awards recognize those that make a difference in the community, said Voyageur.

Renee Vaugeois, executive director at the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights, was one of those recipients.

“I was extremely humbled and honoured about receiving the Good Relations Award,. It gives me a sense of renewed confidence to continue with human rights work,” she said.

Vaugeois is an example of someone that has pushed the boundaries of human rights by becoming an activist and a leader that promotes positive change. Through her work and in her personal life, Vaugeois has strived to create a safe and inclusive community that is free from hate, racism and discrimination.

“Building relationships is an intricate part towards creating a community that embraces differences, change and diversity,” said Vaugeois.

Her value in human relationships has driven her work at the John Humphrey Centre through constantly consulting and opening dialogue for the community to discuss issues of racism.

As a role model, Vaugeois believes that youth are intricate to creating positive change and offers some guidance “youth need to know and understand the issues, they need to know their rights, be open-minded and have a connection to the community in order to challenge discrimination and embrace the growing diversity in Edmonton.”

A key principle of the awards is that Canadian society must realize the enormity of this situation, said Voyageur, and the extent to which it reflects the indifference of the Canadian public to the tragedies perpetuated against Aboriginal women and girls in cities, boom towns and small towns.

Inspired by the investigation of Cst. Robert Urbanoski into the murder of Helen Betty Osborne, the Social Justice Awards create an atmosphere to recognize leaders in the community in the promotion of social justice.

“We need people to know that it is okay to be an activist; it is okay to stand up against discrimination, stereo-types and ingrained structural racism,” said Vaugeois. “These awards aim to meet these goals, raise awareness to issues of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and create confidence with a renewed cohesiveness that can drive the community to continue to build social justice strategies.”

Individuals for Good Relations awards are nominated by partnering organizations in the community.  A panel of community leaders is put together to discuss and decide, which individuals will be award recipients.

Other award recipients were: RCMP Inspector Dennis Fraser; RCMP Inspector Stewart Callioux; Jan Fox, executive director with REACH Edmonton; April Eve Wiberg, founder of the Stolen Sisters Awareness Walk; Amanda Gould, co-organizer for the Sisters-in-Spirit marches; Gloria Newapetung, co-organizer of the Stolen Sisters Awareness Movement; and Jaime Black, REDress Project artist.

Photo caption: Renee Vaugeois, executive director at the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights, was one of a eight recipients of the Good Relations Award.