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LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Two Fort Simpson residents received a special honour on Canada Day.

Mary Louise Norwegian, left, and Bert Tsetso are honoured with Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medals at the Fort Simpson arbour on Canada Day. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Mary Louise Norwegian and Bert Tsetso were presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. The commemorative medal was created to mark the 2012 celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the queen's ascension to the throne and will be given to 60,000 Canadians to honour their significant contributions and achievements.

The medal presentation ceremony was incorporated into the village's Canada Day celebrations. Fort Simpson residents watched as Norwegian and Tsetso were presented with the medals at the arbour.

Senator Nick Sibbeston spoke about Bert Tsetso and his journey from an early traditional life in the bush to serving with the RCMP for 20 years.

"He has opened the door for the RCMP for aboriginal people in our country to join," Sibbeston said.

Tsetso said he is very pleased that he cut a trail for other aboriginal people to join the RCMP. When Tsetso joined the force in 1977, he had never met an aboriginal RCMP member before.

Since then, Tsetso said one or two aboriginal people from every community he was stationed in have joined the RCMP members. Tsetso said he has also seen aboriginal people enter other professions, such as becoming lawyers.

Tsetso's early life provided no hint of his future career choice. Tsetso was born to James and Rose Tsetso in Fort Simpson. The family lived a traditional lifestyle at Two Islands, about 52 km down river from the village, where Tsetso stayed until he went to residential school in 1961.

Tsetso said he was initially drawn to the RCMP because he thought they looked smart in their uniforms. After graduating school, Tsetso applied for the RCMP while at a career fair.

For the next six years, Tsetso worked as a surveyor for the federal government. Every time he was on vacation, the RCMP would ask if he was still interested in working with them.

After sensing that development such as the Mackenzie pipeline wouldn't be moving forward because of the political atmosphere at the time, Tsetso decided to commit to the RCMP.

He went into training in August 1976 and graduated as the only aboriginal member of a troop of 32 people on March 7, 1977. His mother travelled to Regina for his graduation ceremony.

"My mom would be proud if she saw me now," he said.

Tsetso served in Fort Smith, Nova Scotia, Hay River, Fort Simpson and Wrigley during his career. Tsetso said he enjoyed the daily challenges that the job brought.

"It's like being in the bush, it's always challenging," he said.

After retiring from the RCMP, Tsetso worked for 14 years as the Village of Fort Simpson's bylaw officer. Tsetso said it was an honour to receive the Diamond Jubilee Medal.

The second award recipient contributed to her community in a different way.

Chief Keyna Norwegian of Liidlii Kue First Nation shared some memories about her mother Mary Louise Norwegian during the awards ceremony. Mary Louise has eight biological children but many other people also consider her their mother, Keyna said.

Keyna recounted how the family's three-bedroom home was always full of people who were staying with them and whom Mary Louise provided for despite being a widow with a large family of her own. The family may not have had many material goods, but we were rich in love and respect for our mother, said Keyna.

"My mother is a very humble person," she said. "I'm very proud to have her as my mother."

Mary Louise's humble nature was evident in her response to receiving the award.

"I still think other people deserve it more than me," she said while sitting in the living room of the log house she built with her children.

Mary Louise grew up at Rabbitskin, located approximately 40 km up the river from Fort Simpson. Mary Louise said her parents taught her that if you have a visitor, you have to feed them.

Mary Louise put that teaching into practice by feeding and caring for her own eight children as well as any other child or adult who came in. Mary Louise said at some points, it seemed that each of her children had invited one friend over.

Despite the fact that she didn't have a steady job and supported the family by trapping, hunting and selling furs, Mary Louise said there was always enough to go around.

"I don't know how I did it, now to think of it," she said.

Mary Louise had a few rules for the children living under her roof. The rules included going to school every day and bringing home their homework to complete. The children also had to be nice to one another and everyone else.

The children she helped raise are now grown and sometimes come to visit.

"They often thank me for what I did for them," she said.

"It seems each one of them turned out to be really nice people."

Mary Louise also made sure that her own children learned about life on the land. One year, she took them to Rabbitskin from April 12 to July 1. There is lots to eat on the land in the spring so no one was hungry, she said.

"I wanted them to learn about the bush life," she said, not just life in town.

When her children were grown, Mary Louise worked as a community health representative for 11 years and also as a volunteer mortician, carrying for the bodies of deceased residents. People appreciated what I did, she said.

Mary Louise thanked her common-law partner AJ Augier for supporting her and carrying for her as she now deals with the effects of Parkinson's Disease.

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