Prince George Native Friendship Centre executive director Barb Ward-Burkitt has been appointed the new chairwoman of the Minister's Advisory Council on Indigenous Women.
It was announced on Thursday that Ward-Burkitt will take over for outgoing chairwoman
Chastity Davis, who has chaired the council since 2014.
"Violence against Indigenous women and girls is a pandemic across our country, and it is continuing to grow," Ward-Burkitt said in a press release. "It is critically important for (the advisory council) to continue to work in partnership with the province to ensure that the voices and stories of Indigenous women and girls are being heard and action is taken as we work together collaboratively to improve the health, safety and wellness of Indigenous women and girls."
Ward-Burkitt has served on the advisory council since 2014, and has been vice-chairwoman since 2018.
Ward-Burkitt, also called Wahiyow Cawapata Scoo, is a member of the Fort McKay First Nation. She has been involved in the friendship centre movement since 1972, and in 2010 was invested into the Order of British Columbia for her work.
In addition to her work with the Prince George Native Friendship Centre, Ward-Burkitt is the former president of the Prince George Nechako Aboriginal Employment and Training Association (PGNAETA), has been a faculty staff mentor at Simon Fraser University for field programs in the north, and worked with Indigenous students with special needs in the Quesnel School District.
"More meaningful investment needs to be made in Indigenous women in B.C. and I wholeheartedly trust that Barb Ward-Burkitt, (the advisory council) and the many Indigenous women advocates will continue to ensure that this is a top priority for the provincial government," Davis said in a press release.
The Minister's Advisory Council on Indigenous Women was established in 2011, following the Collaboration to End Violence: National Aboriginal Women's Forum. The committee is made up of 10 members, including youth representative Raven Lacerte of the Carrier First Nation, Lauren Brown of the Haida Nation and Sarah Robinson of the Fort Nelson and Saulteau First Nations.
"I offer deep thanks to Chastity Davis for her dedication and invaluable contributions to the important work of the advisory council," Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Scott Fraser said in a press release. "She is leaving that legacy in the capable hands of Barb Ward-Burkitt, and I look forward to working with Barb and the whole council to build on those accomplishments."
