Jeannette Corbiere Lavell
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Jeannette Corbiere Lavell (born June 21, 1942) is a Canadian and
Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawat ...
community worker who focused on women's and children's rights. In 2018, she was honoured as a member of the
Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...
.


Biography

She was born Jeannette Vivian Corbiere in Wikwemikong,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
to Adam and Rita Corbiere. Her mother, a school teacher, was a cofounder of the Wikwemikong "Wiky" Powwow. Corbiere Lavell learned English from her mother and
Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
from her father. Corbiere Lavell attended business college in North Bay. After graduation, she worked for the
Native Canadian Centre of Toronto The Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, founded in 1962, is a membership based charity organization that provides social, recreational, cultural, and spiritual services to Indigenous people in Toronto. History In the post-World War II era, Verna Pa ...
as an executive secretary. She was associated with the
Company of Young Canadians The Company of Young Canadians (CYC) was a short-lived Canadian youth program sponsored by the Canadian federal government, which existed from 1966 to 1977. It was designed to be run autonomously without government direction. It generated considera ...
, which gave her an opportunity to travel around the country, and was named, in 1965, as "Indian Princess of Canada". Corbiere Lavell married David Lavell in 1970, a non-Indigenous man, and subsequently was no longer deemed an Indian according to the '' Indian Act''. She challenged the Act in 1971; though her challenge failed, she inspired a later challenge, the success of which "permitted reinstatement of the First Nations women and children who had lost their status". She later served as president of the Native Women's Association of Canada and founded the Ontario Native Women's Association of Canada. Corbiere Lavell served as a cabinet appointee or the Commission on the Native Justice System, president or the Nishnawbe Institute, and president of Anduhyaun Inc. After she earned a teaching degree from the
University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...
, she worked as a teacher and school principal. She co-edited "Until Our Hearts Are On the Ground: Aboriginal Mothering, Oppression, Resistance and Rebirth". Her daughter, Dawn Harvard, was the youngest ever president of the Ontario Native Women's Association. That organization established an award in honour of Corbiere Lavell in 1987. In September 2009, she became the president of the organization NWAC (Native Women's Association of Canada) for a three-years period. In 2016, Corbiere Lavell was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws at York University for her work as a Native women's rights activist and educator. In April 201
The Feminist Alliance for International Action
recognized Jeannette as a member of the Indigenous Famous Six. Other members are Yvonne Bedard, Senator Sandra Lovelace Nicholas, Sharon McIvor, Lynn Gehl, and Senator Lillian Dyck.


Awards

* Persons Award (2009) *
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...
(2012) * Member of the Order of Canada (2017) *Indspire Award, Lifetime Achievement (2020)


See also

* '' Canada (AG) v Lavell''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavell, Jeannette Corbiere 1942 births Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case winners Canadian women's rights activists People from Manitoulin Island Living people Canadian book editors Heads of schools in Canada First Nations women First Nations activists Ojibwe people Members of the Order of Canada