Right in the middle of graduation season, Vale Manitoba Operations introduced a trio of new scholarships in order to give high school students from Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, Pimicikamak Cree Nation and the Métis nation a helping hand.
Ryan Land, manager of corporate affairs for Vale Manitoba Operations, said these new financial aids emerged as a result of the Thompson Aboriginal Accord, which puts a large emphasis on recognizing historical figures who contributed to the surrounding community in a meaningful way.
“So annually we sort of renew that commitment by sitting at the accord table and, over time, we’ve been committed to doing a better job of recognizing those contributions when the opportunity arises.”
On June 19, graduate Kiya Spence of Nisichawayasihk Neyo Ohtinwak Collegiate in Nelson House was the first to receive a scholarship of $1,000, which was named after her ancestor, and traditional land user, James Spence.
“James Spence actually had a cabin not too far from our current plant site now,” said Land. “[He] had early interactions with the company at that time and made a significant contribution to our early success in the areas of ongoing exploration, discovery, development and eventually what became production inside of a very tight time frame in the early 1950s.”
Just like her ancestor, Kiya was recognized for her overall work ethic, love of learning, generosity and connection to the land.
Three days later, Land travelled to Mikisew High School in Cross Lake to hand out the $1,000 Vale Manitoba Operations Henry Cook Award to graduate Andrea Genaille, who is looking to pursuing commerce in her post-secondary career.
Similar to its Nelson House counterpart, this scholarship was named after a traditional land user who was instrumental in helping Inco (which has since been purchased by Vale) employees find their footing in the early days of mining development in the north.
“[He] was practising traditional activities at the time and became an early employee for us, and was involved in line cutting and staking and really just generally surviving in the region,” said Land.
This June 22 graduation ceremony featured an appearance and speech from Henry Cook’s son Jason, who helped create this scholarship as part of an ongoing campaign to cement his father’s legacy as “Thompson’s first resident.”
While the company’s third new scholarship will probably be presented during the Manitoba Metis Federation’s regional meeting later this summer, Land was able to reveal that this award will be named after Robert “Snowshoe” Parenteau.
“He was part of that initial claim staking that really lead to the development of our operations and he was absolutely known to be a very energetic and capable guy that really could be depended on,” said Land.
