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Darcy Kejick, a former North Spirit Lake chief and councillor, was presented with two awards at the 15th Annual Nishnawbe Aski Nation Business Awards in Thunder Bay on Wednesday, November 30. He was awarded  the Youth Entrepreneur of Year and the Partnership of the Year trophies at this event. Darcy and his wife Susan started Darcy and Susan's Gas Bar in North Spirit Lake in 2001. He told the Chronicle-Journal that he started his business because "it was my dream" and there was a "community need for it".

Other winners include:

• Laureen Wassaykeesic (Laureen's Grocery and Gas) - Business Woman of the Year
• Bruce Brunette (B & M Auto Repair) - Business Man of the Year
• Thomas Tookate (Attawapiskat Development Corporation) - Executive of the Year
• Attawapiskat Development Corporation - Development Corporation of the Year
• Bamaji Lake Development Corporation - Building Communities
• Long Lake No. 58 General Store - NeeChee Achievement Award

The awards gala is organized annually by the Nishnawbe Aski Development Corporation (NADF). Click here for more information about NADF and this annual event (under Business Awards).

News Release from the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation web site at http://www.naaf.ca

Monday, November 28, 2006 - Toronto, ON

At a time when Canada is focussed on First Nation, Métis, and Inuit Peoples, the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation is proud to announce the recipients of the 13th Annual National Aboriginal Achievement Awards

FOURTEEN RECIPIENTS OF THE PRESTIGEOUS ACHIEVEMENT AWARD ANNOUNCED

TORONTO ' A world renowned artist, an entrepreneur from the East coast and an environmentalist from the far North compose a portion of the fourteen recipients of the National Achievement Awards showcasing the overwhelming diversity, contribution and achievement that can be found among Canada's First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. The awards were announced today by Roberta Jamieson, CEO& President of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation (NAAF).

The 13th Annual National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, can count a number of firsts. Shirley Firth Larsson, the twin sister of an equally successful 2005 NAAA recipient, will be awarded an Award for Sports. As well the Foundation will also for the first time, award a recipient posthumously, as the inspiring and bright star, Myra Cree, sadly recently passed away after having been selected through the juried process, leaving a remarkable legacy.

Roberta Jamieson, CEO of the Foundation, said, "When one achieves greatness for themselves they are in fact achieving greatness for their entire community. "This year's recipients embody the diversity of our peoples and speak to potential realized. They are fantastic role models for our Aboriginal youth and all Canadians; I couldn't be more pleased with this year's recipients."

The 2006 National Aboriginal Achievement Award recipients are a notable group. They are:

• Jim Sinclair, Lifetime Achievement, Métis, Saskatchewan
• Andrea Dykstra, Youth, M'ikmaw Nation, Pictou Landing, Nova Scotia
• Taiaiake (Gerald) Alfred, Education, Kaien'kehaka, Mohawks of Kahnawake
• Dr. Herb Belcourt, Housing, Métis, Alberta
• Tony Belcourt, Public Service, Métis, Ontario
• Bernd Christmas, Business and Commerce, M'ikmaw, Membertou First Nation, Nova Scotia
• Gladys Taylor Cook, Heritage and Spirituality, Dakota, Sioux Valley First Nation, Manitoba
• Myra Cree, Media and Communications, Mohawk, Oka-Kahnesatake
• Billy Day, Environment, Inuit, Inuvialuit, NT 
• James (Sakej) Youngblood Henderson, Law and Justice, Chickasaw/Cheyenne Nations, now residing in Saskatchewan
• Wendy Grant-John, Community Development, Coast Salish, Musqueam, BC 
• Shirley Firth Larsson, Sports, Gwich'in, NT 
• Jane Ash Poitras, Arts and Culture, Cree/Chipewyan, Alberta
• George Tuccaro, Media and Communications, Mikisew Cree, Alberta

This year's 14 recipients will receive their awards at a star-studded gala evening on Friday, January 27th, 2006, in Vancouver at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

The fourteen achievers are selected by a national jury comprised of past award recipients and individuals representing First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples from, diverse geographic regions of Canada and areas of the economy.

The awards are a special project of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, established in 1985. The Foundation provides financial assistance to First Nation, Métis, and Inuit Aboriginal students to realize their educational goals and dreams with more than a total of $2 million in individual scholarships awarded to students this year and $18- million awarded since the project began.

The Foundation is devoted to excellence and providing the educational tools necessary for Aboriginal youth to achieve brighter futures.

For further information contact Scott Cavan, Director of Media Relations at 416-926-0775. Visit our website at www.naaf.ca for the following information:

2006 Recipient photos and biographies

Award winners announced at 5th Annual Wood WORKS! Awards Gala

Chief Arthur Moore, of Constance Lake First Nation (200 km west of Timmins), and the Deer Lake K-12 School at Deer Lake First Nation (1,000 km northwest of Thunder Bay) won prestigious Wood WORKS! Awards, announced November 24 at the 5th Annual Wood WORKS! Awards Gala, held in Collingwood, Ontario.  There were over 300 industry and community leaders, politicians, architects and engineers who came to celebrate Ontario’s finest wood-based construction and advocacy.

Smith Carter Architects & Engineers Inc. and Lavergne Draward & Associates Inc. of Winnipeg, Manitoba, accepted the Jury’s Choice Award (sponsored by The Working Forest) for Deer Lake's new K-12 School.  This award recognizes projects that represent excellence in design, use wood in a unique manner and invoke a sense of community spirit and pride. 

The designers carefully fit the school into the community and its natural environment of tall, thin, spruce trees. The use of wood referenced historical dwellings and echoed the “deep roots–new beginnings” concept.  Even the lighting—a series of skylights in a corridor ascending diagonally in sections and terminating at high level windows—reflects the surroundings, where sunlight feathers in from above the trees.  Laminated wood decking was used for the ceilings and roof deck throughout the building, and fir glulam beams and columns were used for the structure. The whole building, in its creative and thoughtful use of wood, represents a solid, warm foundation for learning.

“The Jury selected this building because it harmonizes so well with its surroundings.  It’s a place where the past and the future are part of the present, and students will be inspired,” remarked Bérubé.

Chief Arthur Moore received the Building the Future Award -Community Leader (sponsored by the Ontario Forestry Industries Association), which recognizes a leading individual who facilitates the construction of commercial, industrial and institutional projects with wood, and stands out as a persuasive wood advocate.  Chief Moore has shown a strong commitment to his community in Constance Lake by investing in local projects, such as the Holistic Education Centre and the Eagle’s Earth Historical Centre.  He believes strongly in supporting the local forest industry, which he sees as vital to the livelihood of his community.

“People like Chief Moore are showing us how to maintain a sustainable forestry industry, which will last forever,” commented Marianne Bérubé, Executive Director of Wood WORKS!