The longtime board member from Shoal Lake 40 First Nations is recognized for her tireless public service
HIP’s longtime board member Diane Redsky of Shoal Lake 40 First Nation for receiving Indspire 2025 Award for Public Service! She is among 12 leaders from First Nations, Inuit and Métis to receive the Award in various categories. The Awards ceremony took place recently in Vancouver, BC.
Redsky spent most of her career leading Manitoba’s Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, a community-based, community-led, Indigenous-driven family resource centre and a leader in caring for Indigenous children, youth and families in Winnipeg.
Upon accepting the award, she said: “Investing into Indigenous-led strategies to care for our own and to ensure our families are supported on the path of healing from colonization…This is a model where everybody wins, and it’s a model rooted in Indigenous values — where family and community is leading in the care and protection of children.”
From 2011-2015, Redsky was Project Director for the National Task Force on Human Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada, working with national and international experts to address the sexual exploitation and trafficking of Canadians. This work resulted in a National Task Force Report with 34 recommendations to end sex trafficking in Canada. She is currently the CEO of Kekekoziibii Development Corporation which leads the economic development for Shoal Lake 40 First Nation.
Redsky has received numerous accolades for her work, including an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Law from the University of Winnipeg, the Order of Manitoba, King Charles III Coronation Medal, Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal, Governor General’s Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case, the Senate of Canada Medal, the YMCA-YWCA Women of Distinction Award, and the 150 Manitoba Trailblazer Award. In her current role, Diane leads Economic Reconciliation for Shoal Lake 40 First Nation.
The Awards are presented by Indspire, a national Indigenous registered charity, and dubbed as the highest honour the Indigenous community bestows upon its own people. Since inception, more than 400 outstanding individuals like Redsky have been honoured across Turtle Island and beyond.
(By Gloria Suhasini)