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A First Nation student at Sault College was recognized as a recipient of Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) annual John Wesley Beaver (JWB) Memorial Student Awards.
The JWB Awards is one of three scholarships sponsored by OPG for Indigenous students in post-secondary fields.
Two Indigenous students with a passion for the environment are this year’s recipients.
Aaron Jones, a member of the Garden River First Nation near Sault Ste. Marie, is studying natural environment technology at Sault College.
Fellow award recipient Elizabeth Brant, a member of Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte located in the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory west of Napanee, is in the second year of the Environmental Technician program at Loyalist College.
Given annually to one male and one female Indigenous student, the John Wesley Beaver awards recognize talented individuals, each with a history of community involvement, academic excellence and hard work.
Jones, who is of Ojibwa descent, has spent most of his life outdoors. He previously worked as an adventure tourism guide specializing in caving, sea kayaking and skiing in B.C., as well as a park ranger in Alberta.
Now living in a small log cabin close to his family in Garden River, his outdoor pursuits include hunting, trapping, logging and fishing.
Each year, he joins elders and community members on a week-long moose hunting trip that provides meat for part of his reserve.
This summer, he will be splitting his time as an assistant fisheries technician for the Aboriginal/Ontario Fisheries Resource Centre studying sturgeon in the Garden River and as an assistant forest entomologist with Natural Resources Canada.
“At Sault College, I’ve learned a lot about the natural environment, the forest industry, and all the jobs associated with the natural sciences,” said Jones in an OPG news release. He hopes to continue his studies by attending university.
“This award will help with school costs and help me pursue a meaningful career in the natural environment field or Indigenous relations.”
Named after one of the most notable engineers in OPG’s history, the John Wesley Beaver Memorial Award was established in 1997 by OPG’s predecessor, Ontario Hydro, and is administered by OPG's Indigenous Circle, a networking group for Indigenous employees.
Beaver was a fighter pilot during the Second World War and served as Chief of Alderville First Nation in the early 1950s. He joined Ontario Hydro in 1949 as a junior engineer and quickly rose through the ranks over 23 years, eventually becoming the operations engineer for northeastern Ontario.
As part of the award, each recipient receives a limited edition silkscreen print of a work by Indigenous artist Rick Beaver, son of John Wesley Beaver.
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