TORONTO - Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada presented the Governor General's Northern Medal to two outstanding Aboriginal achievers May 21.  

Bertha Allen of Inuvik is a 2005 National Aboriginal Achievement Award recipient for the Lifetime Award and Georges Henry Erasmus received his National Aboriginal Achievement Award in 1998 for Public Service.

The medal is awarded to a citizen whose actions and achievements have contributed to the evolution of the Canadian North as part of Canada's national identity. 

Allen, a member of the Gwich'in First Nation, has been extensively involved in the support of equality for Aboriginals and northern women. She founded the Native Women's Association of the Northwest Territories.

Erasmus, former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, has long been acclaimed for his work and leadership in promoting native rights. He currently works as chief negotiator for the Dehcho First Nations. 

"I am delighted to congratulate both Bertha Allen and Georges Erasmus on the occasion of their receipt of the Governor General's Northern Medal. This is indeed well deserved recognition of the tremendous contribution each of them have made to Canada's north and the nation as a whole," said Roberta Jamieson, President and CEO of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation. 

For more information, please contact:

John Ecker
Vice President, Communications and Media Relations
National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation
B: 416-987-0260
C: 647.408.5044
jecker@naaf.ca