THUNDER BAY – Ardelle Sagutcheway believes in the power of youth.
Having moved to Thunder Bay from Eabametoong First Nation for high school, she has emerged as a vocal advocate for young people after serving on the Youth Advisory Committee for the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth where she was involved in the seven youth inquest.
Her efforts were recognized at Monday evening's city council meeting where Sagutcheway was one of six recipients of the seventh annual Mayor’s Community Safety Awards.
“Young kids – children and youth – they’re really innocent and pure,” said Sagutcheway, who was the recipient of the Young Leader Award. “Just being there with them really inspires me to keep doing this work.”
She is also one of the creators of Chi Pi Kakki Too Yang, which translates from Ojibwe to Coming Together to Talk, an upcoming film produced to shine a light on Indigenous youth living in Thunder Bay.
“We talk about our life experiences. The film is complete so now I want to take the film into the community and the schools hopefully and have that conversation about racism and discrimination in a respectful manner,” Sagutcheway said.
Ken Miller, chair of Thunder Pride and an outreach and engagement worker with Elevate NWO, was honoured with the Community Hero Award. Miller has led a number of workshops and presentations to local organizations about promoting inclusion for the LGBTQ community while distributing harm reduction kits and handing out essentials such as water and food to socially disadvantaged people.
That sense of inclusion can go a long way, Miller said.
“For me, it took a long time to find a space where I felt included. You can be included, and then you can really feel included,” Miller said.
“That’s when you really find people you connect with. You talk about things that are close to your heart and the things that are important to you and you get the sense of belonging and support from that.”
Nishnawbe Aski Nation's Bear Clan Patrol, along with BaySafe, Youth Outreach Worker Program and Grace Place, were lauded with the Outstanding Community Project Award with each receiving a $1,000 prize from a corporate sponsor.
Anna Betty Achneepineskum, a Nishnawbe Aski Nation deputy grand chief and founder of the local Bear Clan Patrol, said groups go out for walks every Friday and Saturday night, as well as other nights identified by police as high incident.
"We don't have a good picture when it comes to community safety in this city. We don't have good standing," Achneepineskum said. "I believe with programs such as this, which is community based with a group of volunteers, we're here to promote community safety along with all the other programs that were selected and all those that were nominated as well. I believe it's very important we build that awareness."
2017 Mayor’s Community Safety Award recipients
- Community Hero Award: Ken Miller
- Young Leader Award: Ardelle Sagutcheway
- Outstanding Community Project Award: BaySafe
- Outstanding Community Project Award: Youth Outreach Worker Program
- Outstanding Community Project Award: Bear Clan Patrol
- Outstanding Community Project Award: Grace Place
