Aboriginal Volunteers Receive Rare Honour

Aboriginal Volunteers Receive Rare Honour

Thursday, April 06, 2006 at 13:29

Two Aboriginal people are among the 10 provincial residents selected to receive the Saskatchewan Volunteer Medal this year.

They are Wahpeton Dakota First Nation elder Cyrus Standing and Metis family daycare provider Shirley Isbister of Saskatoon.

Standing is a former chief at Wahpeton and a former grand chief of the Dakota Nations of Canada. But he might be best known for being a founding member of Wanuskewin Heritage Park and for being instrumental in its ongoing development.

Isbister is being recognized for volunteering in her community to help meet the needs of Metis elders, youth and families — particularly, in the area of transitional and affordable housing.

She was also the driving force behind a collaboration of humourous Metis stories called “Duck Soup For The Metis Soul”, which was assembled by the Central Urban Metis Federation last year as a Centennial project.

Including this year’s recipients, 94 Saskatchewan citizens have received the medal since its inception in 1995.

Standing and Isbister will receive their medals at a ceremony at the Legislature in Regina on May 1st.