Ken Coates. Photo courtesy @CanadianCouncilForAboriginalBusiness, Facebook.
A trailblazer for northern Saskatchewan academics is set to receive a top honour from the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.
Dr. Ken Coates, a former director of the University of Saskatchewan’s recently-closed International Centre for Northern Governance and Development, has been named this year’s winner of the Award for Excellence in Aboriginal Relations.
Coates is a keen commenter on northern and Indigenous events in the province and across the world while also holding posts with the University of Saskatchewan, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, the Canadian Research Chair, and the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.
When he receives the award at a gala in Vancouver in September, he will join the likes of Senator Murray Sinclair, former Prime Minister Paul Martin, and other business leaders from across Canada who have received the award in the past.
CCAB’s President and CEO JP Gladu said Coates has been on his radar for some time, and said the CCAB is happy to bring an academic into the fold. Especially so, Gladu said, because Coates uses statistics and research to prove how important Indigenous participation in the business community is.
“Ken struck me as an individual who is incredibly empathetic towards the Indigenous community, but he’s more than empathetic. He really understands the opportunity to build that business connection,” Gladu said.
In an interview with MBC, Coates said this is the most prestigious honour he’s ever received.
“I’ve always believed that our role in society was to try to make a positive, constructive change. So I work with Aboriginal communities, Aboriginal governments, and federal, provincial governments and post-secondary institutions. And to be honest every once in a while you wonder if anybody else is noticing,” he said.
“You’re doing the work because the people are fabulous and because the opportunities and needs are great. So you don’t need any external validation to do it and then out of the blue somebody comes along and says ‘Ken we’ve been watching and we actually think it’s worthy of this national recognition.’ So it is humbling, humbling in the extreme.”
When cuts at universities in the province have led to the closure of a northern master’s program Coates was involved in, he said the award brings him extra motivation and validation that he was making a positive impact on the people he serves.
“We’re going to keep going and we’re going to find different ways of doing the same sorts of things. So it is frustrating in that regard but when you get a reward or recognition like this it tells you that what you’re doing is really valuable,” he said.
CCAB’s 15th Annual Vancouver Gala takes place on September 28, 2017.