Congrats to the Sammy Gehue Achievement Award Winners!

The determination, resilience, and passion Fourth Mi’kmaw youths earned them Sammy Gehue Achievement Awards in late August.

Members of the Mi’kmaw community – including family and friends of Sammy Gehue, and the award winners themselves gathered at the headquarter of The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM) to celebrate the successes of the three award winners, and the recipient of the scholarship. 
 

“I remember Sammy was with us for the first few years of the awards,” said CMM Elder-in-Residence Don Julien, during initial remarks. “This started with a recommendation with Theresa Muise, who was our health director at the time. She asked our Executive Director Dan Paul, saying we should start the Sammy Gehue Awards to honour this brave young boy.”

Don reflected on his participation in the awards over three decades, noting it’s been rewarding to recognize Mi’kmaw youth for their hard work and dedication.

This Year’s Stars

The recipients of this year’s Sammy Gehue Achievement Awards and the Scholarship include the following: 

• Denver Sylvester – A passionate athlete from Membertou, who spent much of 2024 playing with various hockey teams, and in a major tournament in Montreal.
   
• Lilly Copage – A young leader from Sipekne’katik who balanced academics, sports, entrepreneurship and community involvement.
   
• Jesslyn Alivia Dennis – A determined, kind-hearted student from Eskasoni, whose excellence in dance, figure skating, running community engagement and academics, incorporating Indigenous knowledge into the curriculum earned her an award. 
   
• Carly Brooks – A graduating Grade 12 from Sipekne’katik, who earned the scholarship on account of her resilience, and accomplishments in the realm of academics, athletics, the arts and healthy regard for her own personal and professional boundaries and aspirations.

New Venue

This year, the recipients were presented with their awards and scholarship at The CMM’s building in Millbrook, in a packed third-floor boardroom.

The boardroom was full, and host to an optimistic and convivial space, as families, friends and staff alike applauded Denver, Lilly, Jesslyn and Carly for following Sammy’s fine example.

During the event, CMM Director of Governance presented Sammy’s mother Ginger with a bouquet, celebrating her more than three months of advocacy through her support of the awards and scholarship.

Awards

The Sammy Gehue Achievement Awards and Scholarship recognize and celebrate young people’s resilience and determination in the face of overcoming challenges to pursue and achieve their goals.

The goals and achievements that are celebrated through the awards and scholarship are in a variety of fields. The recipients exemplify the strength and determination needed to overcome disadvantages, excelling in academics, sports, humanitarian endeavours, environmental awareness and advocacy, music, and arts – to name a few areas of interest.

That resilience and strength the awards celebrate harkens back to Sammy himself, a brave and determined Mi’kmaw boy who determinedly fought relentlessly against Franconi’s anemia – an incurable condition – living a commendable, brave and exemplary life.

The awards began 32 years ago, and were later expanded to include the scholarship for First Nations students about to graduate from high school, with plans to attend post-secondary education, in 2000.