Award winners named

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Three residents of Saskatchewan have been named among the 14 recipients of this year's National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, which will be handed out at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on March 28.

John Arcand is a ninth generation Metis fiddler. With 250 original tunes of his own, he has been writing and performing since childhood.

His efforts to ensure that the Metis fiddle tunes of his father and grandfather remain a part of his people's culture is being recognized with an Arts and Culture Award.

Arcand is an instructor at the Emma Lake Fiddle Camp, which he helped to establish. He also started the John Arcand Fiddle Fest in 1998, an annual event that has grown into one of the premier fiddle events in Western Canada.

More recently, he worked with the Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Research on the production of Drops of Brandy, a four-CD set and a music book of Metis fiddle tunes.

Arcand was not available for comment, but his wife Vickie said he told her this award is one of the proudest achievements of his musical career. "He was very honored to be recognized by his peers for what he is doing," she said.

Engineer Gary Bosgoed is receiving an award in the science and technology category for bringing telecommunications to reserve communities, and for building and managing housing and energy projects for First Nations. Bosgoed is a member of the Peepeekisis First Nation.

"I am certainly aware of many capable Aboriginal business people in Canada, and I am certainly honored to have been nominated and chosen for the award," Bosgoed said.

He is founder and operator of Bosgoed Project Consultants, which over the years has provided employment and training for more than 400 Aboriginal people as employees and subcontractors. Bosgoed started with a single office in Saskatchewan in 1992 and within 10 years expanded to seven offices across five provinces. He is also a founding director of the Canadian Aboriginal Science and Engineering Association.

Matthew Dunn, 21, this year's youth recipient, is receiving the award for his numerous achievements as a student, athlete, performer and community volunteer.

Dunn is now in his fourth year at the University of Saskatchewan's mechanical engineering program and is planning to pursue a master's degree in aerospace engineering. He will receive a $10,000 scholarship for his education as part of the award.

Dunn has previously earned many scholarships, academic and citizenship awards and is an accomplished actor. But he is most proud of being selected as a National Native Role Model in 2000. "I get the chance to make a difference in someone's life," he said.

"As a nation of people we need to forge a path to prosperity and it is a great feeling to know that I am helping in this process in the best way I can," he said. "There's nothing stopping anyone in the Native community from achieving."

Other National Aboriginal achievement Award winners for 2003 include Dr. Judith Bartlett who will receive the award in health services, oil and gas expert Mel E. Benson who will be recognized in the business and commerce category, and legal scholar John Borrows, who will receive the Law and Justice Award. Also receiving awards will be writer Thomas King in arts and culture, Northern Games founder Edward Lennie in heritage and spirituality, and educator and author Leroy Little Bear in education. Hesquiat Chief Simon Lucas will receive an award in the environment category, while St. Mary's Chief Sophie Pierre will receive the award for public service, and Mary Richard, who has spent years working for Aboriginal organizations, will take home the award for community development. Rounding out this year's list of honorees is Dr. Jay Wortman, who will receive the award for medicine, and rock legend Robbie Robertson, who will be recognized with the award for lifetime achievement.