= 1 plete, “B.C. Treaty Commission chief commis- ‘ sioner president Miles Richardson won an INSIDE COMMUNITY EVENTS B2 OMMUNITY<= TERRACE STANDARD The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 20, 2002 - B} SECTION B Mask maker and teacher earns a national By JENNIFER LANG TERRACE-BASED Freda Diesing, a Haida artist and carver who helped lead a cultural renaissance in northcoast aborigi- nal art, is being recognized with a natio- nal award. Diesing, a master artist and teacher, is one of the recipients of the 2002 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards. Those awards will be handed out at a Gala award ceremony in Winnipeg next month, She will receive an award recognizing her achievement in arts and culture. Diesing is known for for the artistry of her masks. Her works have been displayed in pal- leries and museums as well as featured in books highlighting northwest coast art. Diesing, who comes fram a long line of artists in her family, began carving in the 1960s, a time when aboriginai people were re-discovering artistic traditions that had been outlawed by the federal govern- ment for the first half of the 20th century. - She was one the first students to attend the “Ksan Kitimax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art, where she was taught by master carvers Robert Davidson, Tony . Hunt and Bill Holm. She then went on to become a teacher herself, passing carving skills on to children and adults. Two of her former students include master carver Dempsey Bob and Norman Tait. ~ Diesing joins other prominent north- -west residents who have received a Na- tional Aboriginal Achievement Award. In 2000, Nisga’a leader Joseph Gosnell -received a lifetime achievement award for his role in negotiating the Nisga’a ‘treaty, B.C,’s first modern day treaty. Former Haida nation president and. award FREDA DIESING is a Haida artist and carver. She's being recognized for her contribution to art and culture. National Aboriginal Achievement Award last year for his environmental work. Richardson and other Haida people — joined by environmentalists — were instru- mental in the creation of Gwaii Haanas National Reserve Area on South Mores- by, an area slated for logging. The NAA Foundation celebrates ex- cellence in the aboriginal community. The awards are in their 9th year. Twelve career awards, one youth, and one lifetime achievement award are given out each year,. The March 10 gala award ceremony , will be televised on CBC TV. ROY ATRILL sports one of the toques Ksan House Society is selling. Hat sales helo homeless THOSE DARK blue Team USA beanies may be ail the rage at the Salt Lake City Olympics. But when it comes to a good cause, they’ve got nothing on the stylish but practical winter toques Terrace’s Ksan House Society is selling right now. Proceeds will help sup- port Ksan House Society’s programs for homeless people in Terrace. Ksan House operates the Terrace Emergency Shelter, a facility that pro- vides a bed, a meal, and second-hand. items like. clothing to people who have nowhere else to po. Emergency shelter co- ordinator Roy Atrill says Skeena MLA Roger Harris and MP Andy Burton were among the first people the, first to buy toques - = avail: able at the emergency shelter and at Ksan House for a $10 donation — this year, “Everybody in the of- fices bought one,” Atrill smiles at the victory. More people are .using the shelter than ever, Close to 2,700 bed nights were logged at the emer- gency shelter last year — its busiest year - since opening. Shelter stays have in- creased by 15 per cent each year since 1998. This January was the shel- ter’s busiest month ever. “A lot of the issues are related to. the economy,” he says. ~ Atrill says an uncharac- teristically: .pessimistic mood has blanketed the ‘normally optimistic. com- munity - of . Terrace, this - winter, : o ce “I can’t help but notice it — it’s everywhere.” Ksan will share pro- ceeds with the Raising the Roof program, a national campaign aimed at ending homelessness in Canada. It’s hard to generalize about the homeless, but poverty is the one common denominator. Pcor health, violence in the home, unemployment and a lack of affordable housing are some of the contribuling factors. _ Chronically homeless people represent less than 20 percent of the homeless population in Terrace, The rest are families and indi- viduals who find them- selves without a place to live for shorter periods of time. - About one-third of the | ‘homeless are people with — -.: mental health problems. RE DSLE REINS I VIDEO” - Poster | hunt. ‘seen here with a few' glorious THE R.E.M. LEE Theatre needs your help. Have you saved old posters from shows at the Lee? Theatre Alive Society president Liz Williamson, examples, says many old posters have been lost, The @ society’ is now looking for donations. “All artwork we choose will be carefully finished and hung on the walls in the lobby.” Call 635-2101. Terrace man gets a new lease on life with a kidney transplant By JENNIFER LANG LESS THAN one year ago, Keith Norman got the kind of news that changes your life - and your priori- ties. He was diagnosed with kidney disease and within two years would probably need dialysis, an option that usually spells a move to Prince George, where there’s a renal clinic. But, worse still, as a diabetic for three decades, his lifespan would shrink considerably if he went on dialysis. The waiting list for kidney trans- plants is five years long. His doctor told him he couldn't wait. “What he was basically saying was, if I didn’t pet a live donor, I probably wouldn’t make it.” His brother Peter, an Anglican priest in Parksville, on Vancouver Island, offered ta find out if he was a match. “E just called him up when I found out and he said right off the bat, “Well, I’ve pot one you can have.’” The offer meant Peter had to un- dergo a battery of medical tests to determine if he was a good donor candidate. Keith, meanwhile, promptly Te- tired. He’d been Terrace’s city trea- surer for 23 years and didn’t think it was fair to stay on. Plus, the father Keith Norman of two adult children wanted to enjoy his retirement while he was still healthy. He’s managed to do just that. He squeezed in 135 rounds of golf this summer, but he reluctantly admits he has good days and bad days. Then, the good news he and his wife Sandra had been waiting for finally came: Peter was a suitable organ donor. The brothers were scheduled for transplant surgery in January but fate. struck again: doctors discovered Keith had two blocked arteries. He was given an angiogram. “It’s a very painless procedure,” ” he recalls. He was put on blood thin- ning medication, setting the trans- plant date back a month. The wait is now over. He and |. Peter went in for surgery on Monday, at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. Both men will spend five days in hospital and weeks recovering, : Keith will stay at a friend’s in Vancouver that’s a 15-minute walk away from St. Paul’s, where he’ll be checking in twice a week for six to. eight weeks, If all goes well, he should return home in March, Six months ago, Terrace’s Marg Anderson donated her kidney to her younger sister, “She actually came to see. me,” he says. “She said there’s nothing ig it” He points out the success rate for kidney. transplants is 99 per cent when there’s a-donor, because the match is better. “I’m feeling pretty good,” he says. And he should feeling better already, Kidney transplant recipients. usu- ally report feeling an improvement almost immediately. : NEW AIYANSH plays host to cul- tural dance groups from across the Nisga’a nation this Friday and Sa- turday, when Hoobiiyee 2002 cele- bralions usher in a new year. Hoobiiyee, (pronounced o-bay-a) takes place in the month of Febr- wary and marks the -beginning of the new harvesting year for the Nisga’a. place at the Gitlakdamix (New This year’s celebration takes Nisga’a to ring in the new year Aiyansh) recreation and cultural centre Feb. 22 and 23. Events include a welcome feast, traditional singing and dan- cing performed by nine different Nisga’a cultural groups, and art work displays. This year’s Hoo- biiyee hosts, the Gitlakdamix Cer- emonla! Dancers, formed in the 1970s. The group has travelled to Ottawa as ambassadors in the past. The crowning of the Hoobiiyee prince and princess — ceremonial dancers who win the honour in a competition based on ticket sales in their categories — takes place Saturday, followed by half hour- long dance performances, Urban groups are also taking’ part, including Teztace’s Gitlaxdax Sayt Kilim Goothl Nisga’a, who also perform Friday at: Northwest Community College starting at 1 p.m.