An environmental activist and member of the Poplar River First Nation, she worked unceasingly for eight years to secure interim protection for more than two million acres of Poplar River’s undisturbed boreal forest. By 2004, along with other community leaders, she had led the development of a precedent-setting, comprehensive land protection and management plan for this territory, while helping secure five more years of “interim protected status”. For her efforts, she was awarded the 2007 Goldman Environmental Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious grassroots environmental awards and $125,000 US from the Goldman Foundation. She is only the third Canadian recipient of this award. She is presently working with other First Nations in Manitoba and Ontario to safeguard an even larger region of First Nations’ boreal forest as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
