Contributions recognized

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Fifteen exceptional people were recognized for their achievements during the 2nd Annual Metis Recognition Awards and Banquet, held in Regina November 24.

The event, organized by the Regina Metis Women, was held at the Ramada Hotel, with about 260 people in attendance.

The awards were handed out in 11 categories, with each recipient receiving a keeper award and Metis sash, and having their name entered on the permanent award.

The awards in the Science and Technology category were given to Jacqueline Lukey and Ray Gosselin.

Lukey has a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree and a Masters degree in Environmental Studies. Her Masters thesis was titled "Native and Non-Native Perspectives on Traditional Environmental Knowledge." Lukey is currently employed as a project manager with Public Works and Government Services Canada. She has also worked developing the curriculum for an environmental class offered by the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College.

Gosselin is an architect who applies his knowledge of Aboriginal people and Native architecture in his designs. He has worked on a number of Aboriginal-related projects over the years, including the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., the Museum of Civilization in Hull, Que. and the Turning Stone Casino and the Children and Elders Centre, both located in Verona, N.Y. Gosselin has also worked on a number of healing centres, museums, schools, hospitals and casinos in Saskatchewan, and is currently working on housing projects for Aboriginal people.

Joyce Racette and Ray Hamilton were recipients of the Community Service Award.

Racette started her career as a summer student with the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan, working as a youth worker, then became a secretary, then bookkeeper for the organization. She became a certified alcohol and drug addictions counsellor, and joined the Native Alcohol Council, now the Metis Addictions Council of Saskatchewan. She started as bookkeeper, rising up through the ranks to become executive director. Racette left the council in 1998 to become representative workforce coordinator for the Regina Health District.

Hamilton was recognized for his many years of community service. He was the first Aboriginal person elected to City Council in Regina. He served as a commissioner on the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Commission and the Regina Police Commission. He also served on the Mayor's Task Force on Indian and Metis Initiatives and as provincial secretary of the Metis Society of Saskatchewan, and was a founding member of the Native Council of Canada, the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan's Saskatoon local, and the Saskatoon Metis Friendship Centre.

The award in the Youth category was given to Shannon Lejour. The fourteen-year-old is in Grade 8 at St. Michael's Community school, where she is very active in school activities. Lejour has been involved with the Terry Fox Run, Jump Rope for the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and the Regina and District Food Bank, as well as being a member of her school's student council. She has also completed baby-sitting and first-aid courses, and has been involved in arts, athletics, public speaking and drama. Lejour's career goal is to become a United Nations peace keeper.

Calvin Racette was recipient of the Metis Culture Award. In 1980, Racette graduated from Gabriel Dumont Institute with a Bachelor of Education degree, and in 2000 became the institute's executive director. In between, he spent time working in the institute's curriculum department, producing booklets and education materials on Metis history. He also spent five years as principal of Bert Fox high school, where he taught Native Studies and Math, and coached volleyball, basketball and track and field.

Rhyse Cardinal and Ken Schaffer were recipients of awards in the Arts and Entertainment category.

Cardinal uses traditional Aboriginal styles to create modern abstract art. His work has been sold at the Regina Centre's annual art auction. Hehas also been contracted as a guest illustrator and contributor for the Kids With Diabetes magazine. Cardinal completed the Multi-Media Communications Program at the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) in 1998, and currently works for the Saskatchewan Communications Network (SCN) in the areas of programming, help desk support and web site design. Cardinal is the first Aboriginal person to work at SCN.

Schaffer was recognized for his work both behind and in front of the cameras, most notably in the production of Metcom, the first television series about Metis history, culture and art.

The series, which began production in 1994, is now broadcast nationally on APTN, as well as on the SCN. Episodes of Metcom have also been purchased by the Gabriel Dumont Institute and are part of the CD-ROM released by the institute last year. Some episodes are also included in the curriculum of the University of Northern B.C., and have been included in the National Film Archives of Canada.

Tyrone Fisher and Georgina Fisher received awards in the Social Work category.

Tyrone Fisher is a social worker, currently working with the separate school board as a counsellor for Aboriginal students. Prior to taking that position, he worked as a medical social worker with the Regina Health District for 26 years. He has volunteered with a number of organizations, including Family Services Regina, the Regina Child Abuse Prevention Committee, Compassionate Friends, Cystic Fibrosis, the Saskatchewan Association of Social Workers, and the Regina Airport Authority Consultation Committee.

Georgina Fisher has been employed with the Department of Social Services for over 25 years. Currently a post adoption worker within the Family Services division, Fisher works to re-unite adult adoptees with their birth mothers and families. Her past employment has included work in the Native Foster Home Program, the REACH adoption program, and the Family Connections program. She has als counselled many women who were abused as children, as well as children living in foster homes.

The Health and Medicine Award was given to Brent Robison. Robison has worked in the areas of health and education in a number of capacities, including health administrator, counsellor, lecturer, advocate and Aboriginal liaison person. He is currently working as administrative assistant with Wasakaw Pisim Native Counselling Services, where he acts as an advocate for Aboriginal patients, while supporting the medical staff in their provision of health care.

Marilyn Poitras was recipient of the Law and Justice Award.

Poitras is a crown counsel with the constitutional law branch of the Saskatchewan Department of Justice. Poitras has also been an assistant professor at the University of Victoria's Law School, and was involved in negotiations for self-government for the Beaufort Delta region. She was also director of a summer legal studies program for Inuit people preparing for self government in Nunavut.

As crown counsel, Poitras provides legal advice on constitutional, Aboriginal and human rights laws, acts as legal advisor for Treaty Land Entitlement negotiations, and sits on the government's employment equity committee.

The Education Award went to Corinna Hayden-Fidler, principal of Herchmer Community school in Regina, where she works to ensure Metis and First Nations history, cultures and traditions are incorporated into her students' education. Hayden's previous positions have included principal of Regent Park school, teacher and vice-principal at the Kakisheway school on Ochapowace reserve, principal at St. Pascal school in Green Lake and teacher and vice-principal at Wallaston Lake school. She also acts as a consultant to Aboriginal educators at the University of Regina and the Department of Education.

Fred Desjarlais received the Elder Award. An accomplished Metis fiddler, Desjarlais is interested in transferring his knowledge of Metis music and dance to younger generaions. He plays at dances and for square dancing troupes, and is currently teaching his three-year-old great-grandson Ashton how to play.

Marty Klyne was recipient of the Business and Commerce Award. Klyne is president and CEO of the Regina Regional Economic Development Authority. He is also a member of the National Aboriginal Economic Development Board, the Access of Capital Board, the Clarence Campeau Development Fund, the National Aboriginal Economic Development Board Youth Committee, Tourism Regina and the Regina Research Park Advisory Board.