Reconciliation Awards Nomination Information & Application

1. Youth (5 – 17)

This award is to recognize youths for their leadership and taking initiative in role-modelling values that support Reconciliation.

2. Young Adult (18 – 25)

This award is to recognize young adults for their leadership and taking initiative in role-modelling values that support reconciliation.

3. Community Leader

This award is to recognize an individual who shows outstanding commitment to role modeling and advancing the goal of Reconciliation here in the City of Lethbridge.

4. Education (Individual or group)

This award is to recognize an individual or group who has played a fundamental role in sharing education, awareness and for creating opportunities for others to participate in Reconciliation and the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action (TRC).

5. Indigenous Leadership (Group or Individual)

This award is to recognize a group or individual who has played a fundamental role in sharing education, awareness and for creating opportunities for urban Indigenous people and families to connect with Indigenous ways of knowing and supporting connections to culture, in the City of Lethbridge.

6. Corporation or Private Sector (Group)

This award is to recognize group leadership by a corporation and/or private sector organization who show outstanding action and commitment to Reconciliation here in the City of Lethbridge.

7. Not-for-Profit Organization (Group)

This award is to recognize group leadership by a not-for-profit organization; who show outstanding action and commitment to Reconciliation here in the City of Lethbridge.

Nominees must:

• Understand experiences and knowledge about Reconciliation in their field
• Demonstrate leadership and/or mentorship supporting Reconciliation
• Have a record of accomplishment in advancing collaborative and inclusive opportunities and/or initiatives related to Reconciliation
• Have plans for advancing Reconciliation

Strong applications provide well-constructed support letters that reflect a clear understanding of Indigenous rights, address economic barriers and knowledge sharing, and include additional materials that provide further context to the nominee’s work.

To make a support letter stand out, it should:

• Indicate the nature of the relationship between the writer and the nominee and the length of the relationship
• Include concrete examples and details about how the nominee has demonstrated exceptional leadership, integrity, respect, and commitment to furthering Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in the Lethbridge and/or inspired others to continue reconciliation efforts
• Be specific about how the nominee’s work contributes to reconciliation
• (i.e., What is its impact? Does the work rise to the occasion in a transformational way? How did the nominee ‘change the system’?)
• Highlight how actions and/or programs have enriched people’s lives
• Speak to the inclusion of Indigenous people and sharing their knowledge
• Focus on the process of Reconciliation not only the benefits to the nominee and/or community
• Describe the positive outcomes of the nominee’s work
• Explain how the nominee’s work has specifically impacted our community

Support letters may include other information such as:

• How things were in the community prior to the nominee’s efforts
• The sustainability of the nominee’s contributions (i.e., Will it have impact for a long time?)
• Mentorship provided to others
• Any extraordinary circumstances or challenges the nominee has faced (i.e., provide biographical or historical context, if helpful)

Note: Support letters are more powerful when they come from someone outside of the nominated group or organization. It is important that the nominee’s reconciliation work occurred in Lethbridge.