A member of the St. Theresa Point First Nation and respected elder, Ed Wood has dedicated his life to the betterment of the people of Island Lake and, more broadly, the First Nations people of Manitoba and Canada. Fluent in his own language of Oji-Cree and throughout a more than 50-year career, he has worked to promote and preserve Aboriginal culture in Manitoba. Stressing the importance of education, he has been actively engaged in efforts to pass on the language and traditional way of life to the youth of Island Lake. He has assisted Island Lake communities in the areas of health services, housing needs, political and economic development, and treaty land entitlement. The recipient of the Indian Business Development Group’s Businessman of the Year Award (1985), Wood currently serves as associate chair of the East Side Planning Initiative, the Wabanong Nakaygum Okimawin (WNO). A member of Manitoba’s Aboriginal Resource Council, he has been a consultant on First Nations governance, an advisor on economic and resource development, a First Nations political and policy analyst and a financial and business advisor. He has worked with First Nations in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.
