Government building named after Métis activist Muriel Stanley Venne
Posted on: Nov 01, 2017
On Wednesday, October 25, 2017 Premier Rachel Notley announced the building at 142 Street and 123 Avenue, in Edmonton, Alberta, will be named after Metis Nation of Alberta citizen, Ms. Muriel Stanley Venne.
Muriel Stanley Venne and her family members with Premier Notley at the unveiling ceremony, Wednesday, October 25, 2017. Photo courtesy of the Government of Alberta.
Ms. Stanley Venne is a tireless advocate for Métis rights and recipient of many recognitions and awards including the Order of Canada, the Golden Jubilee Medal, and the Diamond Jubilee Medal. Ms. Venne’s career as a human rights advocate began in 1973 when former Premier Peter Lougheed appointed her one of the first commissioners to the Alberta Human Rights Commission. She also founded the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women, an organization promoting opportunities for women.
Stanley Venne is a former Vice President of the Mètis Nation of Alberta and represents Métis interests as member of The National Aboriginal Advisory Committee to the Commissioner of Prisons and the Remembering the Children Society. Her passionate and tireless support for Indigenous rights also earned her recognition from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The Muriel Stanley Venne Provincial Centre is the first government building the province has named after an Indigenous woman.
At the unveiling ceremony, Notley declared, “[Muriel] is a woman who has fought her whole life to make life better, to make life fair, and to make life more just.”
“I am honoured to be the first Indigenous woman in Alberta to have my name attached to a provincial government building. I hope this is a sign to young women and girls across the country that they can raise their voices and demand to be treated with respect,” Stanley Venne said on Wednesday.
The building, currently being renovated, is set for completion next spring and will serve as a multipurpose government centre.
Read the Government of Alberta’s announcement here.