Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This past Friday I was honoured to present a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Award to a respected elder and advocate for Dene languages and culture, Mr. Daniel Sonfrere. Mr. Sonfrere is highly respected for his lifelong determination to preserve and promote the Dene language and culture.
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Mr. Daniel Sonfrere continues to work tirelessly for the preservation and promotion of the Dene language. As part of a committee of six elders, all of them fluent in the Dene language, he works with a translator and linguist to record and preserve our language in a topical dictionary. Mr. Sonfrere hopes that this dictionary will continue to help the young people learn from their Mother Tongue.
February 6, 2012, marked the 60th anniversary of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of Canada. To celebrate this event, the Government of Canada created a commemorative medal to recognize the outstanding contributions of 60,000 Canadians of all ages and walks of life.
Elder Daniel Sonfrere is worthy of this reward for his legacy of language and great dedication to his people. We are reminded daily of the influence he has taken in shaping the community that the Hay River Reserve is today. I was deeply honoured to attend the ceremony, along with Chief Roy Fabien of the K’atlodeeche First Nation, and to make this very special presentation as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Deh Cho.
