Bertha Allen
Equality fight dominates life's work
By George Young
Windspeaker Writer
Bertha Allen, the recipient of this year's lifetime achievement
award from the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation (NAAF),
was born in 1934 in the small community of Old Crow, Yukon, an
area of the north made famous by Native writer Edith Josie.
Allen said that life in Old
Crow was very traditional. It was an isolated community like
many of the places where Aboriginal people live.
"Very seldom did you ever see a plane come in. Most times
the only visitors we had were our relatives from Alaska that
came by the river, usually in the summertime when they could
travel by water.
"We had RCMP back as far as I can remember ... and their
planes would come in occasionally."
It was in this environment that Allen grew up, so some might
find it difficult to believe that she went on to become an accomplished
communicator who rubbed shoulders with Canada's power-brokers
in her work to champion the rights of women in this country.
"I come from a long line of leaders. I was raised by my
grandparents, and my grandfather was a traditional chief. It
was instilled in me as a young woman that I was to take that
role on."
Allen is a member of the Gwich'in First Nation, and currently
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