Yellowhead Institute announces inaugural winners of the Art Manuel Awards
The Yellowhead Institute has announced the inaugural winners of the Art Manuel Awards. These awards honour the late Arthur Manuel (pictured above) who was known for his tireless advocacy work for Indigenous People's rights to self-determination.
By Suelan Toye
A residential school survivor. A mentor, teacher, activist. Arthur Manuel left behind a strong legacy on which many others have taken up the mantel to push for justice in Canada. The son of Marceline Paul of the Ktuanaxa Nation and George Manuel of the Secwepemc Nation, he was known for his tireless advocacy for Indigenous People’s right to self-determination.
To honour his legacy, the Yellowhead Institute has announced the award’s inaugural winners (external link, opens in new window) today, all chosen by a three-member jury comprised of First Nations women leaders.
“Art minced no words about what Indigenous liberation meant to him,” said Professor Shiri Pasternak, research director of the institute and a longtime friend and collaborator of the late Indigenous advocate. “Though his focus was on economic rights, he valued above all the social fabric from which Indigenous communities were woven, and especially the role of women in tightening these threads.
These awards were created to honour grassroots individuals and movements that are chosen by a jury, who are themselves growing the collective power of Indigenous peoples on these lands through their work.”
“Indigenous communities, from individuals to grassroots organizations, are working together to enact self-determination,” said Dean Pamela Sugiman. “Through these awards, our faculty is proud to help support the work of First Nations community leaders who are striving to effect change from the ground up.”
For Alan Sears, chair of the Department of Sociology, the awards is a way to pay tribute to a true visionary whom he had the opportunity to meet when he came to Toronto. “It is wonderful to see the powerful legacy of Art Manuel as a thinker and activist being carried forward to celebrate the emerging voices of Indigenous resurgence. Our department is proud to support these awards.”
Native Youth Sexual Health - $5,000
The Native Youth Sexual Health Network (NYSN) is an organization for Indigenous youth. Led by Indigenous youth, the network works with Indigenous peoples to advocate for strong and culturally safe sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice initiatives in their local communities.
Judy Da Silva, Grassy Narrows First Nation - $1,000
The mother of five children, an aunt and grandmother, Judy Da Silva lives in Grassy Narrows
First Nation, a remote hamlet in northern Ontario, and has been advocating for her community who has long suffered the effects of mercury poisoning, herself included. Between 1962 and
1970, the Reed Paper Mill dumped 10 tonnes of mercury into the Wabigoon-English River system, contaminating the waterways and fish that is the lifeblood of residents living in the region.
Rhoda Quock, Klabona Keepers - $1,000
As co-founder and spokesperson of the Klabona Keepers, Rhoda Quock, has been instrumental in the fight to protect the Sacred Headwaters – a vast alpine basin in northern British Columbia that is the shared birthplace of the Skenna, Nass and Stikine Rivers – from Fortune Minerals,
Royal Dutch Shell’s natural gas operations. The company intends to drill more than 1,000 methane gas wells in this area, putting communities and the surrounding wildlife at risk.
“We are humbled by the opportunity to support the work of the National Youth Sexual Health
Network, Rhoda Quock of the Klabona Keepers and Judy Da Silva of Grassy Narrows in the name of our dear friend, Arthur Manual,” said Pasternak, who also teaches in the Department of Criminology. “We miss him dearly.”
The awards were funded, in part, by the Faculty of Arts and the Department of Sociology.