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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
More than 70 people gathered Thursday night to pay tribute to Arlene Hache, the driving force behind the Centre for Northern Families who is stepping down after more than 20 years to pursue a university degree.

"It's not goodbye. It's just a change," said Annemieke Mulders, manager of programs and research for the Status of Women Council of the NWT.

Arlene Hache stands between her daughter, Mira Hall, left, and the new executive director for the Centre for Northern Families, Caroline Johnson, Wednesday night. Hache was honoured Thursday night by the centre's governing board, politicians, and community non-profits for her work as she is retiring as executive director of the centre. - Svjetlana Mlinarevic/NNSL photo

The council gave Hache a beautiful purple and gold quilt, made by Hache's good friend Sandra Lockhart.

"I'm Dakota Cree and the star in this quilt is what we call 'God's Eye.' Each square is symbolic of each person she's helped," said Lockhart.

"She is my favourite mentor," said Caroline Johnson, the new executive director for the Centre for Northern Families.

"She taught me to stand up for what I believe in. She taught me that we all have a story and to accept people as they are."

Hache came to Yellowknife in 1974 from Brockville, Ont., as a young 18-year-old. She ran away from an abusive home and followed her curiosity about the North to the NWT.

"Movies and TV shows held a mystique about the North. I found the mystique true just not the way it was represented in film. I find the North magical and exciting even after living here for 40 years," said the mother of two.

Hache co-founded the centre in 1990 in order to advocate and aid marginalized Northern women and their children. The centre has faced difficulties over the years. It was threatened with closure in 2009 after it was revealed the centre was $350,000 in debt but Hache challenged territorial government, saying it needed to provide more core funding to keep this vital service alive.

"I wanted to fight oppression and the inequality I saw. Northern women were being marginalized," she said, noting the centre is unique among women's advocacy centres in Canada because it was founded by women who themselves were marginalized in the community.

"She was always very strongly in favour of empowering people and in helping women move forward," said Mira Hall, Hache's daughter.

"She's tenacious. She's like a pit bull," said Gail Cyr. "She will not give up and to her credit that is where the more fearful people dare not tread. Aboriginal people have been trained to retreat and we need people like Arlene who will not retreat but advocate for them."

The social issues advocate has received a number of high-profile accolades over the years. In 2006, she received the NWT Wise Woman Award, in the 2009 she was made a member of the Order of Canada, and in the 2012 she received the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee medal.

"It's pretty amazing. It's a big deal to me (to win the Order of Canada). I always try to be cool like it doesn't matter but it did matter," said the outspoken activist with a laugh.

Last year, she made her fifth attempt at gaining a seat in the legislative assembly but was defeated in Yellowknife Centre by the incumbent Robert Hawkins.

Hache will leave her post as executive director at the centre in order to pursue a Masters in Leadership degree at Royal Rhodes University in Victoria, B.C. She will also write stories about the women she has helped and hopes to turn those stories into a book and news articles.

"Even though I've left the centre I have not left advocacy," said Hache.

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