Chief Crowchild award honors local job finder

Page 9

In conjunction with Native Awareness Week, the Calgary Aboriginal Urban Affairs Committee presented the David Crowchild Award at the Calgary City Hall.

The Crowchild award is presented to individuals or groups who have contributed to the Aboriginal community and have helped bridge the gap between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal community.

This year, the award went to Art Cunningham.

"I feel very humble," Cunningham said. "It's a great honor to be compared even a little a bit to David Crowchild."

Cunningham, an employee with Nova Corp. was recognized for his efforts to open Aboriginal employment opportunities. He hopes his efforts through the company and his volunteer work with other agencies will help to strengthen the family unit by restoring the dignity of men.

"The group of people in our community who need healing the most are the ones who have lost the most and that is the Aboriginal male," Cunningham said. "Their ability and opportunity to provide a living for their families in their traditional ways have been taken."

The committee accepts nominations for the award from the Aboriginal community and that is what makes it unique, said Sharon Small, from the Calgary Social and Community Development Department.

"That is what's important about the award, is that Aboriginal community members nominate the people from their own community," she said.

Mayor Al Duerr said the award and a memorial in the atrium of city hall is a small way of saying thank you to Chief Crowchild, "but more importantly to say that what he stood for are principles that should be guiding us as a city council and all of us as a community."