First Lady Nation tells stories of success

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/10/2014 (4332 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Buffy Handel knows she is a dancer, an athlete, an entertainer and an entrepreneur, but she never thought she’d become a writer.

However, when Handel was asked to be one of 50 or so aboriginal women to write a chapter for a series of books titled First Lady Nation, she changed her mind.

“I don’t really have any business writing anything, nor did I feel that I was talented in that area,” the South Osborne business owner said, “but when I was talking to the owner of the publishing company that did this project — I talked to her for 20 minutes — and what she said to me immediately after digesting and blurting out my life story to her, she said if you write like how you speak you’re going to do very well.”

Handel’s story is featured in the first volume of the two-volume First Lady Nation project. Both volumes were released at the same time.

The 33-year-old’s story  is one of contemplation, celebration and what she described as learning truth by living out in the bush.

“I was given a very unique upbringing. It’s not something that you typically hear from a person my age,” Handel said.  

Handel was raised in the Island Lake area and spent her younger years on the trap line without any running water or electricity. In First Lady Nation, Handel describes how the time spent with just her family in the backwoods shaped her into an observant and empathetic person whose life is filled with positivity and truth.

“Everybody has a choice about how their outlook is,” Handel explained, “and when you look at the writing it’s really an opportunity to celebrate my past.”

Handel came to Winnipeg when she was 14-years-old and admits the transition was tough.

“I literally never thought I would be even just taking a bus. I struggled with that. I struggled with being around so many people,” Handel said.  “And I would have never ever thought that I could go from that kid who was scared of taking the bus or being around even just five people, to presenting and performing in front of 200,000 people.”

Today, Handel owns the Aboriginal School of Dance at 694 Osborne St. and has performed and presented at public speaking engagements across North America. Handel is also a mother of nine and mentors young adults.

The First Lady Nation project was conceived by Barbara Bowes, a local human resources consultant and resident of St. Clements, who also recruited all the authors in the series and co-ordinated the project.

“Through my work over the past number of years, I have met so many women who have overcome their challenges and have gone on to be very successful professionals and parents,” Bowes said over email. “And, because all we hear about are the bad stories about aboriginal people, I wanted an opportunity to get some good news out there…..so I decided to do this project.”

And though Handel’s story is one of celebration, there are some chapters that reveal personal traumas.

“I think that this voice, this book is a way and an opportunity for therapeutic reasons for these women,” Handel said, “and it’s also for other people to hear the reality of other people’s lives.”

“I think my chapter along with all of the women’s other valuable chapters fit very well together.”
First Lady Nation is available for $20 by contacting Barbara Bowes at barb@legacybowes.com

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