A Drumheller woman has been recognized for her service to the aboriginal community.
Donna Leeking received the Dorothy Daniels Justice Award, and was presented at the Esquao Awards in Edmonton earlier this year. These are awards put on by the Institute of the Advancement of Aboriginal Women (IAAW).
She is grateful for her chance to excel.
“That hand was extended to me, and I am all about paying it forward. I am a real self help person, I love to see people take a look at their lives and deal with their problems in a good way,” she said.
Leeking, a proud Métis, was born and raised in Drumheller. She left for a few years and began working in social services. She returned home and started her career at the Drumheller Institution. Leeking has been working at the Drumheller Institution for more than 30 years. She is the Aboriginal Corrections Program Officer, and facilitates a violence program for aboriginals.
“Corrections Canada has been very good to me, they allowed me to promote myself,” she said. “What they did for me, I do it for them… they even helped me to be proud of being native, which I wasn’t.”
This is not her first award. She has received two medals for her exemplary service, as well as the Queen’s Jubilee Medal. She attributes some of her success to having strong role models.
“I believe that because I was raised by my Kokum (grandmother), taught strong values,” she said. “My uncle Wilf Cunningham mentored me. He worked in corrections as an aboriginal liaison. These were two really strong people in my life who taught me well.”
Elder Elsie Winnipeg nominated her, and Debbie Anderson, Manager of Assessment and Interventions at the Drumheller Institution, and Marilyn Kenny regional vice chair of the Parole Board of Canada, Prairie Region, supported her nomination.
Unbeknownst to Leeking, her image is being used in a television campaign for the IAAW. She learned she was on TV from some of the people she works with.
“One of the inmates said, ‘You’re a movie star now,’ ” she said. “Then I got a couple calls from people in the community who saw me on TV.”
According to its website, the IAAW promotes the self-determination of aboriginal women who contribute to the well being of their communities, promotes personal growth of the recipients, and gives encouragement for those in the audience. Leeking was awarded at the 16th annual Esquao Awards.
