Award shines a light on Indigenous leaders

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This article was published 15/01/2018 (2999 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On Jan. 9, many Indigenous leaders who live and work in the North End were recognized with the Governor General’s Award for Outstanding Indigenous Leadership.

Among the seven people receiving the Meritorious Service Decorations given to recipients who excel in a broad range of areas, from advocacy activities to healthcare or research, and from public service to humanitarian aid, is Diane Roussin, the director of the Winnipeg Boldness Project. 

For three years, WBP has been researching ways of working with families and children in the North End, looking at what’s best for them in terms of improving childhood development outcomes. Roussin said the work that she does is similar to that of her fellow North Enders, in the sense that they put the community’s wisdom into creating solutions for the issues they tackle.

“The folks who are being honoured tonight, I think they’ve all embodied that and they’ve all worked in that way. We all work in that way in our own issue area.”

Joining Roussin are James Favel and Larry Morrissette (posthumous) from the Bear Clan Patrol, Michael Redhead Champagne from Aboriginal Youth Opportunities, Althea Guiboche from Got Bannock?, Mitch Bourbonniere, a social worker with several North End organizations, and Ry Moran from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. Lucille Bruce, former executive director at the Native Women’s Transition Centre, received the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers, which recognizes the exceptional volunteer achievements of Canadians from across the country in a wide range of fields.

Roussin, a social worker by training and former executive director of the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, said the many organizations working in the North End are trying to find solutions that build trust with community members and find solutions that are beneficial for all. She added these awards are a great opportunity to recognize and promote the strength of Indigenous communities. 

“It’s about affirmation. It’s about saying ‘OK, the work you’re doing is good work, and the work you’re doing resonates with not just your neighbourhood. It might resonate at a larger level and across a bigger scale,’” she said, adding many would agree the community deals with complex issues.

“Quite often Indigenous communities are seen as broken, or are seen for its weaknesses and not always for its strengths. We are adding to that narrative about what’s good about our Indigenous community, what’s strong about our Indigenous community, and that our Indigenous community has real, tangible, effective solutions that we can engage with to solve complex problems, not only for Indigenous people but for us as a society.”

Lieutenant-Governor Janice Filmon presented the awards to 15 Manitobans at Government House. These Manitobans have worked to strengthen urban and rural Indigenous communities and create an environment in which reconciliation is possible.