About the Métis Spirit Award
The Métis Spirit Award lifts up the voices, actions, and stories of young Métis who give back to their communities and live their culture. This award is a way to recognize youth and young adults who show their commitment through any of the following:
| Uplifts Métis youth voices and communities and demonstrates a commitment to creating a positive social change. |
| Exemplifies kindness by demonstrating acts of selflessness or compassion, that positively impact others. |
| Actively engages with Métis culture, demonstrating dedicated efforts to raise awareness and connect with Métis culture and Michif languages. |
| Demonstrates active involvement and service in the community, including land stewardship and land-based activities. |
| Engages in educational, extracurricular, leadership, community service, or athletic initiatives, serving as a positive influence on their peers. |
| Has overcome adversity or displaying commitment to personal change and growth by overcoming personal or societal barriers. |
Here are the recipients of the 2025 Métis Spirit Awards!
View photos from the 2025 Métis Youth Leadership Gathering:
See photos
Lily Jenson
Lily is a Grade 11 student pursuing her education in the francophone program. Proud of her Métis heritage, her family roots trace back to St. Laurent and St. Boniface, with family names including Lavallée, Ducharme, Desjarlais, Henry, Campbell and Lagimodière. Lily is deeply committed to sharing and celebrating her Métis culture through language, art, and tradition.
A dedicated language learner, Lily has been studying Michif for the past five years. Now, at just 16 years old, she is recognized as a proficient, immersive speaker. She actively shares her language skills in both her Métis and francophone communities and has even been asked to teach classes for young learners—an impressive testament to her leadership in language revitalization.
Lily’s passion for Métis culture extends beyond language. She is an avid beader, and a member of a jigging group, keeping traditional art forms and dance alive. In 2023, she proudly represented Team BC at the North American Indigenous Games, where she helped her soccer team bring home a gold medal.
An exemplary student, Lily excels academically and plans to pursue post-secondary studies with a focus on Language Revitalization. Her dedication to preserving and promoting her Métis heritage, combined with her athletic and academic achievements, make Lily an inspiring role model, demonstrating the power of youth leadership in strengthening Métis language and culture.
Emma Kramer
Emma Kramer is a disabled Métis youth who resides in Kelowna, BC.
She is a multidisciplinary artist who creates beadwork and moccasins. When teaching in her community, she strives to foster an authentic and safe space for all participants to share, learn, and grow.
A dedicated member of the MNBC Eco Collective, Emma works to protect local ecosystems by collecting litter from waterways. She expresses her passion for land stewardship through her artistic practice.
Emma’s work can be found on her artist page, ‘Big Mink Beads.’
Payton Murphy
Payton is a 16-year-old Métis youth knowledge holder living as a guest on the unceded ancestral land of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation. She is mixed Red River Métis/Settler and comes from a long line of ancestors who were performers, actors, dancers and singers.
She has been a competitive dancer for 10 years. She dances ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz, and lyrical styles. She also loves jigging. She learned to dance the Red River jig from Métis Bev Lambert and Madelaine McCallum. She is grateful for the teachings she has received. Payton considers dance as medicine.
Payton has been doing presentations and workshops since 2022. She has spoken at local, regional, and provincial events. Payton does workshops about Métis culture, art, traditional medicines, women’s health, and jigging. She is a Grade 10 student, and also works for School District 57.
In her free time, she spends time with family and friends, volunteers, drums, sings, makes medicines, and spends time out on the land. She has been lucky to have so much love and support from the Lheidli T’enneh community and considers it an honour to be able to do her teachings on their beautiful territory.
Sisely Roeters
Sisely Roeters is 17 years old from Golden, BC. She is in grade 11 and plans to go to nursing school when she finishes high school. Sisely is also the Youth Representative at Métis Nation Columbia River Society.
Sisely loves beading, jigging, and is a leader in her small community. She is an active being who loves snowboarding, gymnastics, aerial silks, climbing, dirt biking, and camping.
Last semester, Sisely had a block at school for her leader roll (youth rep), and she dedicated lots of her time in and out of school for the youth. She had activities for the youth to attend, baked/cooked nutritious meals, and so much more. For Christmas 2024, Sisely had a Christmas lunch for students at the school as well as a raffle to win gift baskets and little gifts.
Sisely is committed to giving back to the community in any way she can. She is so grateful to be picked as one of the Métis Spirit Award recipients. Thank you MNBC and MYBC!
Haedan Turner
Haedan is incredibly grateful to have received the Métis Spirit Award. As a proud member of the Fort St. John Métis Society and the Métis Nation of B.C., this recognition fills him with pride in his Métis heritage. Haedan's Métis roots come from his mother’s side, and despite being away from home for many years while training to become a doctor, his connection to his culture remains strong. It has been challenging for him not to be able to connect with his home community as often as he would like, but he looks forward to the day he can return and serve as a physician. This award is a profound reminder that Haedan's cultural ties endure no matter where he is, and he knows his family shares in the pride he feels. To receive acknowledgment from the nation means the world to him, and he will carry this honor with him always.
Annelie Wells
Annelie is Red River Métis from Treaty 1 territory on her mother's side, and mixed European on her father's side. Annelie is in their final year of studies at the University of British Columbia and will be graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in First Nations and Indigenous Studies. She works as a student advisor in the šxʷta:təχʷəm student space and enjoys teaching other Indigenous students how to bead.
