Native named Citizen of the Year

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Being named Prince Albert Citizen of the Year 1993 proves relations between the city's Native and non-Native communities are getting better, said the winner of the award.

"It shows you some of the realities we have dealt with here in Prince Albert," Eugene Arcand said. "Ten years ago, no one would have dreamt of a First Nations man being named Citizen of the Year."

The Jan. 21 award came as a surprise to Arcand, 41, who thought he was just meeting with sponsors for the North American Indigenous Games. Arcand was speechless for several moments, then hugged his wife, wiped away a tear and stepped forward to accept the honor.

The award follows the phenomenal success of the North American 1993 Indigenous Games, hosted by Prince Albert last summer. Arcand, a vice-chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, was instrumental in bringing the games to Prince Alberta and was chief organizer of the event.

The huge economic impact of the Indigenous games in favor of the city was a major contributing factor toward Arcand's nomination, said committee members. Arcand, a Cree from Muskeg First Nation was honored above a dozen nominees for the award organized by the Prince Albert Kinsmen Club and the Prince Albert Daily Herald.

Since moving to Prince Albert in 1984, Arcand has proven his commitment to the community by serving as provincial representative of the National Association of Friendship Centres, coordinating cultural awareness symposiums, and co-founding and coordinating the Prince Albert Aboriginal Hockey Tournament, now one of the premier sports events in the province.

Arcand calls himself a survivor of the residential school system, a man who couldn't cry and then wouldn't cry. Now he has learned to let his feelings show. The tears shed during the announcement of the award were for the pride he knew his 76-year-old mother, and his wife and three children would be feeling, he said.

And tears were the order of the day for crowds who saw hundreds of young First Nations athletes pour over the crest of a hill and down into the natural stadium at Prime Ministers' Park at the July 19 opening of the 1993 North American Indigenous Games.

To Arcand, sports, culture and recreation are one, an alternative lifestyle for the youth. Arcand believes First Nations must make them a priority because youth are our future.

"It is fine to concern ourselves with rights, but we must get every base for our youth. I have dedicated my life to working for youth. When the youth are happy, the parents follow."

Developing an Aboriginal team to enter the Olympic Games is a dream of Arcand's. Until then, he is organizing Team Saskatchewan for the 1995 Indigenous Games, being held in Bamidji, Minnesota, and planning the national general assembly of the Association of First Nations that will be held in Saskatoon this July.