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GDI Publishing’s Karon Shmon Nominated for Women of Distinction Award

May 19, 2015

Posted in: Uncategorized

The 2015 YWCA Women of Distinction Awards nominees were recently announced. The Awards are a celebration of the best in women’s achievements and contributions to make Saskatoon a better place. While all the nominees are an inspiration, one particular name stood out. Karon Shmon.

 

It isn’t just that Karon is Métis and serves as the Director of GDI Publishing, or that she is an award-winning educator. She is that and more. A holder of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees, Karon has worked as a school teacher, Faculty member of the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program (SUNTEP), Aboriginal Education Consultant, Executive Director of the Gabriel Dumont Institute, Human Resource Advisor at SIAST (Saskatchewan Polytechnic), and Program Manager at Leadership Saskatchewan.

 

Under Karon’s leadership, GDI Publishing has received over 25 publishing and book awards. Her contributions to the well-being of Métis people needs for further emphasis. She co-wrote the lyrics of ‘Proud to be Métis,’ Métis National anthem. In 2011, Karon secured the donation of the Fisher Collection to the Institute. The Fisher Collection includes hundreds of artefacts from the 1885 Northwest Resistance and the Batoche battlefield, which are of importance locally, provincially, and nationally.  She has served in a number of committees and boards where she has represented the interests of Aboriginal peoples. These include the Ministry of Education Curriculum and Instruction Advisory Committee, Race Relations Committee in Prince Albert, and the Professional Issues Advisory Committee, Saskatchewan Teachers Federation (STF). A Past President of the STF Special Subject Council, AWASIS, Karon’s interest in education and empowerment of Aboriginal peoples has enabled her to touch the lives of numerous students, educators, writers and artists.

 

Karon has been a leader of the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Women’s Circle, and a presenter at two world conferences on lateral violence, a form of abuse in which women are often the victims. Her advocacy for representative work forces and strengthening families helps women help themselves.

 

Karon told me, “It is humbling to even be nominated. I feel very fortunate to have my paid work also be my life’s dream.” She continued, “I have felt the support and assistance from others all along the way, as I have been encouraged by many, helped by many, and had others who have removed obstacles or lit the path.  I owe a wealth of gratitude to each of them.”

 

When she was a student at the University of Saskatchewan, “Clarence Trotchie, then the Area Director, would call me and say, “I want you to come to a meeting to show our people that we are getting educated.” As a shy freshman, I would go and when he’d introduce us and say “these are our leaders of the future” I would be flabbergasted and think, “We are?”  As I began my career and was asked to take on various tasks, I would say to myself, “Mr. Trotchie thinks I am a leader.  Maybe I can do this.”  That kind of confidence, combined with the hope and promise I saw in my parents’ eyes, sustained me at each turn.”

 

But Karon’s achievements have not been without challenges. Yet she maintains that she is a better person because of the challenges. “Even the adversity I have faced has forced me to be more creative, more resourceful, and more resilient.”

 

Last year, GDI Training and Employment Director Lisa Wilson won the YMCA Women of Distinction Award in the Arts, Culture, and Heritage Category. Lisa noted that (this year’s award nominee) “Karon’s professional background as an educator combined with her cultural strength and understanding, equals a powerful leader in the field of Métis education…Karon’s contributions to the education community span her entire career and exemplify her tenacious interest in issues of Aboriginal education and education equity.”

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