Original article by Jonathan Migneault – Sudbury Northern Life http://www.northernlife.ca/news/localNews/2014/06/02-influential-women-Sudbury.aspx
The Influential Women winners for northeastern Ontario, Sarah Hunter, Christi
Belcourt, Shana Calixte, Crystal Kaufman and Nicole Saulnier posed with their
new hardware at the awards ceremony in Sudbury Monday afternoon. Photo by
Jonathan Migneault.
The Influential Women of Northern Ontario awards recognized Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) citizen Christi Belcourt, as well as five other women for their business accomplishments and contributions to the community during the northeastern Ontario gala at Sudbury’s Radisson Hotel.
“I was just totally blown away with the calibre of women who won this year,” said Patricia Mills, the publisher of Northern Ontario Business, which presented the awards. “These are women from Northern Ontario and they’re making a difference.”
The Aboriginal leadership winner Christi Belcourt was presented with the Aboriginal leadership award. At the awards ceremony, Belcourt called on the audience to ask for justice for the more than 800 Indigenous women in Canada who have gone missing or have been murdered.
Belcourt, a visual artist from Espanola, spearheaded the Walking with our Sisters memorial and art exhibit, which features 1,725 pairs of unfinished moccasins meant to represent the unfinished lives of the missing and murdered women.
Others awarded include Sarah Hunter, Debbi Nicholson, Crystal Kaufman and Shana Calixte.
For more information about the winners visit www.influentialwomen.ca.