Cabin Radio’s star intern wins culture and heritage award

The five winners of this year’s Minister’s Culture and Heritage Circle Awards were honoured at a ceremony in Yellowknife on Monday.

The awards, handed out annually since 2011 by the Department of Education, Culture, and Employment, are designed to highlight residents whose work strengthens the arts, cultures, and heritage of the Northwest Territories.

Alice Twa, a Yellowknife teenager and this summer’s Cabin Radio intern, is this year’s youth recipient.

“I am so honoured,” Alice wrote from Argentina, where she is living for a year. She is best-known for her performances as an accomplished fiddle player.

“There is nobody more deserving than Alice for this award,” said Cabin Radio in a statement.

“We had the pleasure of working alongside her this summer and have seen, first-hand, the energy, drive, and talent she brings to the territory’s arts and culture.”

Also honoured this year is Tishna Marlowe, from Łutselk’e, who staged a stunning fashion show in Yellowknife last November.

Joanne Tetlichi, from Fort McPherson, is named in the Elder category, while Yellowknife’s Old Town Community Organization receives the group award.

The “Minister’s Choice” award is presented to the Designated Gwich’in Organization in Fort McPherson.

The territorial governments says these awards “provide lasting recognition and gratitude to those who contribute to the preservation and promotion of arts, cultures and heritage in the Northwest Territories.”

Last year’s winners were Dang-Dang Gruben, Kiera-Dawn Kolson, Catherine Bell Sanguez, the JBT Dance Group, and Dene Nahjo.