Exceptional youth recognized at awards gala

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The efforts and accomplishments of young people from across Saskatchewan were officially recognized on April 30, as the sixth annual SaskTel Aboriginal Youth Awards of Excellence were handed out.

The theme of this year's awards ceremony was Honouring Our Heritage by Building Leaders for Tomorrow, a suitable sentiment for an event recognizing the accomplishments of a group of outstanding Aboriginal youth.

Awards were handed out in 11 different categories this year: education, community service, performing arts, leadership, recreation, outstanding achievement, sports, spirit, fine arts, culture, and innovation.

This year's recipient in the education category was Jennifer Buffalo from Whitecap Dakota First Nation. Buffalo, who hopes to study medicine after graduating from high school, is in Grade 11.

Buffalo has been enrolled in the advanced secondary program since Grade 9 and the academically talented program since Grade 5. She has been an honour role student for the past three years, but still manages to find time for community work, volunteering at the Royal University Hospital and being involved in Junior Achievement.

Buffalo is also an accomplished athlete, playing competitive fastball for the past six years, five of those years at the top of her division. This year she will play at the midget A level with the Saskatoon Selects. Buffalo is also a talented artist, and recently won an art contest which will see her entry featured in the University of Saskatchewan's Aboriginal student handbook for the coming school year.

The award in the community services category was presented to Jennifer Bishop, a Grade 12 student from Bedford Road Collegiate in Saskatoon. Bishop received the award in recognition of the many hours she had dedicated to assisting the community, from fundraising for charities to helping out with church functions, to volunteering her time with Aboriginal organizations.

Bishop, who hopes to pursue a career in acting, directing and scriptwriting, has been a volunteer with the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company's Circle of Voices Aboriginal youth program. She has also volunteered with the Kids Help Phone and Canadian Blood Services, and has been a member of the White Buffalo Youth Lodge's youth advisory committee.

A group of 10 talented young people took to the stage to receive the SaskTel Aboriginal Youth Award of Excellence in the performing arts category. Chad Bear, Evan Bear, Sydney Bear, Kayla Bear, Chantelle Bear, James Dreaver, Dreanna Dreaver, Adam Primeau, Nikki Primeau and Jo lynn St. Denis are members of the Muskoday Northern Lights Square Dancers. The group members range in age from 14 to 18, and have been performing together for the past eight years.

The Muskoday Northern Lights Square Dancers have performed for audiences across Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba, and have even travelled south to North Dakota. And while the members are dancers, entertainers and competitors, they are also teachers, dedicated to passing on their knowledge and love of square dancing to other young people in schools and First Nation communities.

This year's Leadership Award was presented to Sean Cheecham of Clearwater River Dene Nation. Cheecham is an accomplished athlete who works to strike a balance between sport, academics and tradition. He speaks Dene fluently, and maintains a strong connection with the land.

Cheecham, who hopes to study police science after graduating from high school works to keep his marks up to help ensure that that goal can become a reality. In 2003, Cheecham took part in Encounters Canada, a week-long program that allows youth from different regions and backgrounds to get together and learn about and from each other.

On the sports front, his laurels have been many, from being named the most valuable player in soccer, wrestling and track at Clearwater River Dene school, to recognition as the most outstanding wrestler in Saskatchewan in 1996, tobeing a six-time gold medallist at the Saskatchewan provincial wrestling competition.

This year's recipient in the recreation category was Kristen Charles of Lac La Ronge First Nation. Charles is another student who has worked hard to balance her education, family and culture with her commitment to the community. She has received the Northern Saskatchewan Achievement Award in recognition of her academic successes, and was a delegate and youth organizer for the annual Lac La Ronge youth conference.

Charles has also participated in the Encounters with Canada program, and has volunteered her time to a number of community events, including the Cameco dog sled race, the winter and summer games, the La Ronge Winter Festival, winter survival camps, Treaty Day events and community cleanups. Charles is also a member of the RCMP Community Cadet Corps and volunteers her time at an Elders long-term care ward.

The award for outstanding achievement was presented to Kesha Larocque of Waterhen First Nation. The 17-year-old was valedictorian of her graduating class at Waweyekisik Education Centre last year and is now enrolled at Nutana Collegiate where she is taking some science courses that weren't offered at her high school.

Larocque received the Outstanding Achievement Award in recognition of her many accomplishments in her academics, her commitment to the community and family, and her dedication to her culture. Larocque received the Waweyekisik Education Centre Proficiency Award in grades 1 to 12, and was named Student of the Year in grades 10, 11 and 12. She also received the school's Leadership Award in Grade 12. She twice received the Waterhen Lake First Nation Chief and Council Award, and was named Waterhen Lake First Nation Woman of the Year.

Larocque, who dances powwow, also served a term as a Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Indian Princess, and received the Meadow Lake Tribal Council Academic Excellence Award.

Little Pine First Nation's Jaelle Pewapisconias was the recipient of the award in the sports category. The 18-year-old is currently completing Grade 12 at Cut Knife high school and will be enrolling in the University of Saskatchewan's College of Engineering in the fall.

Pewapisconias is involved in a number of sports. She has been figure skating since she was 13, and has been taking part in horsemanship and barrel racing competitions since she was 14. She has played volleyball for the past six years, and is also involved in soccer, basketball, badminton, shinny and track and field. She is also a member of her school's jazz dance club and drama club, and is involved in the local chapter of Students Against Drunk Driving.

The award in the spirit category was presented to Cornell Herman of La Loche. Herman, 19, is attending Joe Duquette high school in Saskatoon where he is undertaking a healing journey. He has taken part in a number of celebratory and ceremonial events at the school, which have helped him to overcome the challenges he has had to face.

Herman is described as an energetic, respectful and generous young man who demonstrates leadership and welcomes opportunities to share stories of his healing with other Aboriginal youth as a way to help them make better choices and to feel pride in their culture.

Celeste Desjarlais of Fishing Lake First Nation received the award in the fine arts category.

Desjarlais is an 18-year-old student at Mount Royal Collegiate in Saskatoon who demonstrates her artistic talents at every turn, from carefully and accurately rendered drawings in her biology class, to works created in art class, to working behind the scenes to create make-up, costumes and sets for drama productions.

Desjarlais did make-up design for a production of Macbeth, designed masks for use by a children's theatre, worked on the set design for a school drama production. She also writes for the school newspaper, the Mount Royal Trumpet, and took part in the Mount Royal ar fair and in the Mendel Art Gallery's Art for Life project. After graduation, Desjarlais hopes to pursue a career in medicine or dentistry.

The award in the culture category was presented to Tashenna Sky Bison of Ocean Man First Nation. Bison is a 14-year-old student attending Ocean Man Education Centre. She was recognized with the Culture Award in recognition of her commitment to her culture and her work to share her culture and knowledge with others. In the winter months, she travels to communities to dance, sing and take part in round dances. In the summer, she takes part in jingle dress dance competitions. In 1999, her commitment to her culture earned her the Miss Heartbeat of Nations crown.

Bison is also a talented singer, and has made recordings with both Lodge Creek and the Eagle Claw Singers. She has also had the honour of representing the sacred buffalo calf pipe, participating in Sundances as the pipe girl. After high school, Bison plans to pursue a career as an educator.

Kahkewistahaw First Nation's Hollie Lemieux received the award in the innovation category. Seventeen-year-old Lemieux is a Grade 12 student at Saskatoon's E.D. Feehan high school, where she is successfully enrolled in both the French immersion program and the advanced English program.

Lemieux, who plans to attend the University of Saskatchewan's college of veterinary medicine after graduation, received the Innovation Award in recognition of the initiative she showed when she approached the college with an idea for a research project. She will now be spending her summer completing the project, which will help her toward her ultimate career goal.