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NAAF press release ...

Recipients Announced for 2007 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards 
 
TORONTO-- (Dec. 10, 2006) - Fourteen outstanding achievers have been named as recipients of the 2007 Aboriginal Achievement Awards. They include the CEO of Canada's winning 2010 Olympic bid, the producer of one of Canada's longest-running TV series, a world-class diver and 11 other First Nations, Métis, and Inuit role models who converted their potential into success.

"The 2007 award winners are an amazing celebration of achievement," said Roberta Jamieson, CEO of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation. "We invite all Canadians to join us in recognizing these outstanding persons who have contributed so much to Canada and the world. The awards will be presented at a gala event in Edmonton next March and will be televised on both Global and APTN."

The Foundation is delighted that Adam Beach, most recently seen in Flags of Our Fathers, will host the awards while Jennifer Podemski - prominent producer, actor and writer is the Creative Producer.

Juno award winners, Gemini-nominated actors, and a slate of talent that reads like the who's who of Aboriginal Canadian entertainers will honour the recipients with performances at the 14th Annual National Aboriginal Achievement Awards on March 16, 2007 in Edmonton at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.

The recipients and their categories for the 14th annual National Aboriginal Achievement Awards are:

Joanne Cardinal Schubert - Arts
…. a writer, curator, lecturer, poet and Aboriginal arts activist, Cardinal-Schubert inspires and enables Native artists across the continent to challenge and reclaim their creative identities.

Jack Poole - Business and Commerce
…. is credited with bringing the 2010 Olympics to Canada and it's little surprise Poole's been called a cautious optimist, a visionary and a modest overachiever, it's what helped shape him into becoming one of the most successful real estate developers and community builders in North America.

Andre Alestine - Cultural, Heritage and Spirituality
…. a Heritage Researcher for her community she successfully combines her gifts of Gwich'in traditional knowledge with that of Western Science.

Joe Michel - Education
…. one of the most outspoken advocates and leaders on Aboriginal education in the country. Michel has gone on to develop curriculum for linguistic courses in universities and played a major role in reviving the near extinct Secwepemc language back into the schools.

Chief David Walkem - Environment
…. builds communication bridges with developers and forestry companies that allow Aboriginal people to benefit from the business of forestry but also allow the land to regenerate and renew.

Joe Couture - Health
…. as the first Aboriginal person to receive a PhD in psychology, Dr. Joe as he is affectionately known, has not only built bridges of understanding between two cultures but has systematically affected generations of educators and students with his straightforward and profound traditional healing methods

Hugh Braker - Law and Justice
.... the first Nu Cha Nulth lawyer in the country, has been the Director of Self Government for the Assembly of First Nations, and is renowned for his work on Aboriginal child welfare law and protecting Aboriginal children.

Bertha Clark Jones - Lifetime Achievement
…. always spoke out for the underdog and moved women's rights groups forward by strides when she founded the Alberta Native Women's Voices in the late 1960s. That organization blossomed to become the Native Women's Association of Canada, a powerful voice for Native women in the country.

Lisa Meeches - Media and Communications
.... helped lead Aboriginal media into the mainstream by exposing the 'truth', Meeches buries old prejudices and opens minds with her meaningful and traditional-based approach to television production.

Freddie Carmichael - Politics
… currently a second-term President of the Gwich'in Tribal Council piloting the direction for a successful cultural and socio-economic future which includes building a foundation for self-government.

Lewis Cardinal - Public Service
…. is designing education systems that integrate traditional knowledge, and is involved on an international level in a global forum where the world's Indigenous peoples meet to share, discuss and participate in building a more sustainable future for everyone.

Wegadesk Gorup-Paul
…. a champion diver who began a diving career at age 12, Gorup-Paul is stirring up the waters in world competitive diving. He's traveled the globe competing against the sports' top divers in the Pan Am Games, the Commonwealth Games and even the South African National Championships.

Monica Peters - Technology and Trades
…. Indigenous languages are at risk. … By combining modern technology with ancient words she built an instrument that not only gave her identity but has the potential to save threatened languages of the world.

James Makokis - Youth
… his love for his community and his desire to learn the wisdom of his ancestors that drives his passion. …It's his unique ability to share what he's learned through nationally syndicated columns, programming university research projects and combining his family's wisdom with that of his ongoing quest to further his knowledge.

The recipients 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 produced by the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, Canada's leading Aboriginal charity dedicated to providing financial assistance to Aboriginal students for post-secondary education. Since 1985, the Foundation has awarded more than $22 million in scholarships to deserving students across the country for all disciplines, including law, medicine, education, psychology, fine arts, business, and computer sciences.

The National Aboriginal Achievement Awards are generously supported by:

Private Sector:
Lead Sponsor - CIBC
Air Canada, Alliance Pipeline, BP Canada Energy Company, Casino Rama, CN, Diavik Diamond Mines, Enbridge, Encana, First Air, IBM Canada, Investors Group, Nexen Inc., Petro -Canada, RBC Foundation, Scotiabank, Shell Canada Ltd., Suncor Energy Foundation, Syncrude Canada Ltd., Talisman Energy

Public Sector:
The Government of Canada - Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian Forces, Canadian Heritage, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Elections Canada, Environment Canada, Industry Canada - Aboriginal Business Canada, Health Canada, Service Canada, Transport Canada

For more information please contact
Kim Ziervogel at K'Image Communications at 780.490.6762 or 780.231.1873
Or Scott Cavan, Dir. Communications, NAAF at 416.926.0775 ext. 237 or 416.903.4331 (cell), Toll-Free: 800-329-9780, E-mail: scavan@naaf.ca