Student’s essay on Anishinaabe activist wins top prize
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/04/2019 (1809 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A Winnipeg student’s essay on social activism has taken first prize in a Canada-wide contest by TV network A&E.
The network announced on Monday that Sunny Enkin Lewis, a Grade 12 student at Grant Park High School, won the grand prize in her age bracket of its annual “Lives That Make a Difference” contest.
She will receive $3,000 for her essay on teenage Anishinaabe activist Autumn Peltier. Grant Park will also get $1,000.
“I was really happy to win. I think especially writing about someone who I’m so inspired by,” Enkin Lewis said.
Peltier is a water-protection activist from Wikwemikong First Nation on Manitoulin Island in Northern Ontario. In March 2018, at age 13, she spoke to the United Nations General Assembly in New York about the human right to clean water.
As of April 10, 53 First Nations across Canada are under drinking water advisories, according to the federal government.
Peltier was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize in 2017.
“Thirteen-year-old Autumn Peltier stood out in 2018 for her bravery and determination in drawing attention to the water shortage facing Indigenous communities across Canada,” Sara Hinzman, vice-president distribution for A&E Networks, said in a statement. “Sunny’s essay captured the essence of Autumn and her work.”
Enkin Lewis said it moved her to see the young Indigenous woman speak out.
“It’s really inspiring when young people start to take action and make a tangible change in this world, because I think that’s how things are going to change for the better, the fastest,” she said. She added Canadians can sometimes see themselves as “pretty perfect,” so it’s important they don’t forget those who don’t have access to clean drinking water.
Enkin Lewis said she aspires to activism. In the last year, she’s spearheaded a social justice conference at her Winnipeg school, and co-founded a social justice group. Alongside her parents, she teaches English to Yazidi refugees through Operation Ezra, an initiative by Winnipeg’s Jewish community to resettle Yazidi newcomers.
“I have never had to worry about, you know, my safety or putting food on my table,” she said. “I think that because I have the capabilities, I should be helping others.”
She said she hopes to give some of her prize money to a water-related charity.
geralyn.wichers@freepress.mb.ca