SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Lena Pederson's eyes crinkled as she smiled, holding her framed certificate on the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day.

Lena Pederson accepts her 2011 Wise Woman Award for the North Slave region at the Status of Women Council event Celebrating Northern Women: A Century of Achievement Conference at the Explorer Hotel on Tuesday, March 8. - Katherine Hudson/NNSL photo

Words of praise resounded both in the conference room at the Explorer Hotel and in the legislative assembly Tuesday for Pederson accepting her 2011 Wise Women Award.

"Her activities in Yellowknife have included time spent working at the Yellowknife Women's Centre, where she has used traditional culture and language activities to help people build their self-esteem and reduce feelings of isolation that some have experienced," said Great Slave Lake MLA Glen Abernethy.

"She was the first women ever elected to the legislative assembly of the NWT. It was called the territorial council at the time," said Minister for the Status of Women Sandy Lee, speaking of Pederson's time as a member from 1970-1975. Last year was the 40th anniversary of Lena Pedersen’s election to the Legislative Assembly.

The constituency she represented was Central Arctic, made up of Kugaaruk (then Pelly Bay), Taloyoak (then Spence Bay), Gjoa Haven, Cambridge Bay, Bathurst Inlet, Bay Chimo, Kugluktuk (then Coppermine) and Ulukhaktok (then Holman).

"When I had been elected, I asked the central arctic people 'What is our priority?' I see there were no doctors around but lots of babies born every year. They have to go to Yellowknife, so we made the boarding home," she said about the Kitikmeot Boarding Home, named in her honour as the Lena Pederson Boarding House, a place for out-of-town patients to stay when in Yellowknife for medical care.

Pederson grew up in Greenland and came to the NWT in 1959. She has compiled more than 40 years of public work and community involvement while travelling and working in the north.

Although she considers Kugluktuk home, Pederson has lived in Yellowknife for more than 10 years and is currently working as a community wellness and addictions counsellor at the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre. She is also an active presence in the Yellowknife Seniors' Society and the Centre for Northern Families.

She said receiving the Wise Women award is a touching experience, but there is still a lot of work to do on the road to complete women's equality.

"I look back, there are many women who are not recognized," said Pederson.

She said as an example, she listens to CBC's Mansbridge One on One every week and said very few women are interviewed.

"My recommendation that he start doing from coast to coast interviews and make it 50 per cent equal because if we don’t have communication for the rest of Canada, all the work we have done means nothing."

Pederson is one of five women who received Wise Women awards. Other recipients include Ann Kasook for the Mackenzie-Delta, Allison Dejong of Sahtu, Alizette Lockhart for South Slave and Sylvia Nadli for Dehcho.

The Status of Women Council has been distributing this award since 1992. Wise Women recipients are role models who demonstrate wisdom, perseverance and dedication while standing up for women, children and families in their communities.

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