Awards recognize Metis youth

Page 5

Seven outstanding young people have been recognized as role models through the Metis National Council (MNC) National Metis Youth Role Model Program, including four youth from Saskatchewan.

The role model program was launched by the MNC in 2000 as a way to recognize and celebrate the achievements of Metis youth.

The 2003 honorees received their role model awards at a gala banquet held April 26 in the Grand Hall of the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Que. The gala was part of this year's National Metis Youth Conference.

Receiving the role model award in the volunteer services category was Jennifer Brown from Prince Albert. Brown is active in Metis politics at the local, regional, provincial and national levels. She also holds the Aboriginal seat on the Youth Environmental Network, an organization she helped form.

Christian Anderson, also from Prince Albert, received the role model award in the academic achievement category. Anderson graduated from high school with an A average, then attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., where he received his bachelor of arts and his master of arts degrees. He then received a full scholarship to begin his PhD at the University of Alberta's department of sociology. He passed his PhD candidacy exam during his third year of studies, and is now working to complete the degree while working full-time.

This year's recipient in the culture and heritage category is Real Carriere of Cumberland House. Raised and home-schooled on traplines and fishing and hunting camps in northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Carriere grew up with strong ties to his Metis heritage. In 2000, he was selected to attend the Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific in Victoria, B.C., which brings Canadian students together with students from other parts of the world as a way to bridge cultural gaps. He graduated from the college a year ago, and is now studying at Simon Fraser University.

The award in the athletic achievement category went to Jacqueline Lavallee from Saskatoon. The talented athlete excelled in both soccer and basketball while attending the University of Saskatchewan, and has played on the Canadian national basketball team. (For a profile of Lavallee, turn to page 15.)

Remi Dupont from St. Georges, Man. received the role model award for personal achievement. Dupont has moderate scoliosis in his back, but doesn't let it stop him from excelling in sport or academics. He is an accomplished long-distance runner and, after accelerating a grade while in junior high, he will be graduating from high school in June, a year early, with a grade average of at least 90 per cent.

The award in the career advancement category went to another Manitoban, Kristinn Frederickson. Frederickson received his bachelor of science degree in biosystems engineering in 2001, and is working on his master's. He is also working with northern Aboriginal communities in Manitoba and the provincial government to try to find solutions to the ineffective wastewater treatment used in the area. He is also the student member on the University of Manitoba's board of governors, and works to help recruit more Aboriginal students for the university.

Claude Lambert Jr., also from Manitoba, was recipient of a brand new award at this year's ceremony, receiving the Gabriel Dumont Award for Valour. In November 2001, Lambert, who is from St. Laurent, put his own life at risk to jump into freezing lake waters to save his father, a commercial fisherman who had fallen through the ice. The incident happened on the same lake that 11 years earlier had taken the life of Lambert's grandfather, who drowned while he was commercial fishing.

Nominees for the National Metis Youth Role Model Program must be 29 years old or younger, and must have demonstrated achievement in one of the seven recognition categories. They must also be contributing positively to the Metis Nation by attending school, working, or volunteering at the locl, provincial or national level.

For more information about the program, visit the Metis National Council Web site at www.metisnation.ca.