Metis woman featured on province's centennial stamp

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The face of Saskatchewan's centennial belongs to a 29-year- old Metis labour activist from Saskatoon.

You may not have heard of Darla Leard, but you have almost certainly seen her. Her face has been printed in newspaper ads and on billboards all around Saskatchewan. And last month her photo was unveiled as a Canada Post 50-cent stamp promoting Saskatchewan's centennial.

"I've done some modeling and acting, very occasionally," she said in an interview. "It's through an acting class I took a few years ago.

"The lady that I met there used me once in a while for some shoots. The organizers were looking for somebody who fitted who they were looking for, and I got the call."

Leard said she had no idea what the photo shoot was for.

"When I saw myself on the billboard for the first time, it was very much a surprise for me."

At first, few people, apart from family and very close friends, knew that she was the woman in the picture, Leard said. But now, the secret is out.

"Once other people started recognizing that it was me, then it was a bit overwhelming to be the centre of attention."

She said it takes some getting used to, walking down a street, seeing a billboard and recognizing the person standing 10 meters high over a busy street as yourself.

"I was intimidated and really shy at first," she said. "But now that it's gotten to the point of being on the stamp, I've really just learned to be proud of myself. I've learned to appreciate it, and be thankful that I was part of the whole experience."

Leard works for the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) as a field organizer and is based in Saskatoon, where she has lived almost all of her life.

She was based in Calgary around the time the Saskatchewan centennial organizing committee's advertising and promotions department selected her photo for the promotions, but since the decision, the CLC moved her job back to the Bridge City.

The role Leard is playing in marking the province's centennial has brought her praise from her bosses at the CLC.

"It's fitting that a bright young Aboriginal woman with a commitment to social justice that's rooted in the labour movement has been chosen to symbolize Saskatchewan's celebrations of its past and hope for its future," CLC president Ken Georgetti said in a press release.