.

Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

HAY RIVER - Bertha Allen of Inuvik has been honoured with the prestigious Governor General's Northern Medal.

While presenting the medal at Ottawa's Rideau Hall on May 21, Governor General Michaelle Jean praised Allen's work to promote aboriginal and Northern women.

Inuvik's Bertha Allen, left, receives the Northern Medal from Governor General Michaelle Jean in Ottawa on May 21. - photo courtesy of Sgt. Serge Gouin, Rideau Hall

A member of the Gwich'in First Nation, Allen is widely respected for her leadership in promoting equality for women, particularly their inclusion as government decision makers.

"You are one of those women who speak out in the hope of changing things for the better," Jean said while presenting the medal to Allen. "As your voices join as one, your words also reach the highest levels of government."

The Governor General said Allen's efforts have ensured that aboriginal and Northern women are considered full partners in the decision-making process.

Allen was joined in receiving the medal by Yellowknife's Georges Erasmus, a former president of the Dene Nation and national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

"Georges Erasmus, Bertha Allen, you have created a shockwave in our society, and have brought lasting and profound changes to the way people think," Jean said. "You have helped put the North back on the map of Canada."

Allen was in Ottawa last week and unavailable for comment.

Among her many accomplishments, she founded the Native Women's Association of the NWT and later became its president.

She was also the only woman on the Commission for Constitutional Development, which drafted a proposal to create the government of Nunavut.

Allen's other notable accomplishments include establishing the Native Women's Training Centres in Yellowknife and Inuvik and her involvement with the Territorial Hospital Insurance Board and the NWT Judicial Appointments Committee.

A former president of the advisory council of the Status of Women Council of the NWT, she is currently lending her expertise to that organization's Women's Voices Leadership Initiative

Created in 2005, the Governor General's Northern Medal is awarded to citizens who have contributed to the evolution and reaffirmation of the North as part of Canada's national identity.