Kahtou 0004
March 2001

TORONTO, ON - This year's National Aboriginal Achievement Award winners include award winning playwright and author Tomson Highway, Inuit filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk, the first Status Indian to be elected to the House of Commons the Hon Leonard Marchand, Alberta guitar playing physician Dr. Lindsay Crowshoe, and political leader Harold Cardinal.

The National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2001 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards. The winners will be honoured at a gala evening on Friday, March 16th, 2001 in Edmonton at the Northern Alberta Juliblee Auditorium and later televised by the CBC as a national network special.

The awards were created by Mohawk conductor and composer John Kim Bell in 1994 to provide recognition for the outstanding career achievements by professionals of First Nations, Métis and Inuit ancestry.

"These awards generate tremendous pride all across Canada for all Aboriginal people and express the tremendous talent and skill which resides in the Aboriginal community. The awards are also Canada's most positive and significant effort to dispel stereotypes, provide role models to Aboriginal youth, and promote greater harmony between Aboriginal people and Canadians," said John Kim Bell, the Founder, President, and Executive Producer of the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards.

The 2001 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards recipients are a notable group and include:

* Dr. Freda Ahenakew (Hon.) - Saskatchewan based educator and curriculum developer. * Mariano Aupilardjuk - Nunavut elder and carver. * Roman Bittman - Toronto based independent film and television producer. * Dr Harold Cardinal (Hon) - This year's lifetime achievement award recipient, Alberta Cree political leader and activist. * Dr Lindsay Crowshoe - Alberta physician. * Tomson Highway - Award winning author and playwright. * Fred House - BC based Métis leader and negotiator. * Zacharias Kunuk - Noted Inuit filmmaker. * The Honourable Leonard Marchand - Canada's first Status Indian to be elected to the House of Commons. * Richard Nerysoo - The Northwest Territories' first Aboriginal to serve as Government Leader and Speaker of the House. * Lance Relland - Alberta born, University of California medical school student and this year's youth recipient. * Nicholas Sibbeston - Former Northwest Territories Government Leader and current Canadian Senator. * Mary Thomas - British Columbia based environmentalist. * Dolly Watts - Vancouver based entrepreneur.

This year's gala awards evening will be co-hosted by two of Canada's finest athletes - Ted Noland and Waneek Horn-Miller, both previous NAAA recipients. Waneek is best known for appearing naked on the cover of Time Magazine and for co-captaining the Canadian Women's National Water Polo Team at he Sydney Olympics. ted Nolan is known to hockey enthusiasts for his on the ice and behind the bench achievements - a player with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings, he was later named NHL Coach of the Year for his work with Buffalo Sabres.

The evening will feature performances by Canada's top Aboriginal performing artists including, singing sensations Krystle Pederson and Lorre Church who will perform against a colossal cosmic set designed by John Kim Bell. Interspersed between the performances, the glittering evening will feature video vignettes of the lives and accomplishments of this year's fourteen achievers.

The National Aboriginal Achievement Awards are generously supported by: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada; CIBC; CBC; Air Canada; BP Amoco Canada Petroleum Company; Cancom; Placer Dome; Suncor Energy Foundation; Shell Canada Limited: TransCanada Transmission; and Weyerhaeuser. Public sector supporters include: Canadian Heritage; Health Canada; Human Resources Development Canada; Industry Canada through Aboriginal Business Canada; Agriculture and Agri-food Canada; Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation; Canadian Armed Forces; Canadian Museum of Civilization; Department of Justice Canada; Environment Canada; Fisheries and Oceans, Foreign Affairs; Natural Resources Canada; Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada; Solicitor General Canada; Western Economic Diversification Canada; the City of Edmonton and the Province of Alberta.

The National Aboriginal Achievement Awards are produced by the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, Canada's leading Aboriginal charity dedicated to providing financial assistance to Aboriginal students for post-secondary education. Since 1985 the Foundation has awarded over $10 million in scholarships to deserving students across the country.