Valley Journal Advertiser

‘You can feel the spirit’

Glooscap First Nation receives Lieutenant Governor’s Community Spirit Award

- BY COLIN CHISHOLM WWW.HANTSJOURN­AL.CA

Inside the newly-minted community centre, Lt.-Gov. Arthur J. LeBlanc presented the Glooscap First Nation with the Lieutenant Governor’s Community Spirit Award.

The ceremony included traditiona­l dancing, drumming and song. Smiles were also easy to find.

Glooscap Chief Sidney Peters said he was really excited for the community after receiving the award.

“It’s all about the community and community involvemen­t,” Peters said.

“We’re all moving together as one,” he said on Oct. 18.

“You can feel the spirit today; it’s just amazing.”

Peters referenced a lot of the hard work the community has put in and some of the recent developmen­ts and projects, including Glooscap Landing and the new community centre, where the ceremony took place.

“We still have lots to work on, and we’ll continue to do that,” he said. “We want to ensure in the future that we can be self-sustaining, and we want to continue to make good business decisions.”

Communitie­s, Culture and Heritage Minister Leo Glavine, whose department selects the recipients, said many communitie­s apply for the award, but only a few are selected each year to receive the honour.

“The idea is to recognize communitie­s that carry out special events and programs that strengthen their community,” Glavine said. “When we look at Glooscap First Nation, there’s no question that over the last four, five years, we’ve really seen strong developmen­t here, great leadership, and a community growing.”

Glavine said the community is also supporting cultural and social programs that impact quality of life.

To date, 109 communitie­s have applied for the award and 39 have received it.

 ?? COLIN CHISHOLM ?? Grass dancers in traditiona­l dress mark the occasion in the new Glooscap Community Centre.
COLIN CHISHOLM Grass dancers in traditiona­l dress mark the occasion in the new Glooscap Community Centre.

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