Buffy Handel is natural performer. Surely the ultimate test of any performer is to be on stage alone without backup. At the National Gathering for Indigenous Education in Calgary more than 65 people crammed into a small meeting room to watch Buffy make a presentation with no props, visual media or assistance. I was impressed when I observed every audience member poised on the edge of their seat listening intently to her every word for the duration of her presentation. Not something you see every day!

Personally, I admire Buffy for her absolute dedication to exploring Aboriginal culture through dance and music and her creativity to exploring various mediums and art forms. In addition, she uses her talent as a workshop leader and public speaker to share her wisdom and talent. As a result, Buffy’s Aboriginal School of Dance has become a well known entity not only in the Manitoba market but also globally. Buffy is an initiator and a creator of new ideas. She is someone who takes these ideas and makes them a reality all the while freely sharing her success with others.

The Aboriginal Academic Achievement Initiative in our school division aims to provide authentic and meaningful learning experiences for Aboriginal students to honour and learn more about their cultural heritage, as well as for non-Aboriginal students to learn more about the traditions of Canada’s First Peoples. The Aboriginal School of Dance has provided fun, hands-on learning activities which have had positive impacts on the students and the staff who participated in their contracted educational programming, in both the classroom and the after-school activities they facilitated for us.