Aroland First Nation Elder Nora Atlookan Awarded King Charles III Coronation Medal

Press Release

March 11, 2025

THUNDER BAY, ON – Matawa First Nations Management (MFNM) offers heartfelt congratulations to Nora Atlookan, an Elder and educator from Aroland First Nation, on receiving the King Charles III Coronation Medal over the weekend.

“We commend Nora for her devotion to the preservation of Indigenous knowledge and tradition, and for the many years she has spent empowering Indigenous youth with this gift. She’s a good representative for Aroland First Nation,” says MFNM Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Paul Achneepineskum, a former classmate of Nora’s at Geraldton Composite High School. “On behalf of everyone at Matawa First Nations Management, I would like to say congratulations, Nora. You deserve it.”

Nora, an Anishinaabe Elder and language speaker, graduated from Lakehead University’s Native Language Teaching Certification Program in 1988. For over 40 years Nora has dedicated herself to preserving and passing on Indigenous culture through teaching and ceremony, whether it’s offering a smudge to new members of the Canadian Rangers or sharing the practice of birch bark biting with researchers at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education’s Robertson Program at the University of Toronto.

Nora has had an enduring influence on generations of Indigenous youth through her role at Johnny Therriault School in Aroland First Nation, where she has worked for over 15 years sharing Anishinaabe knowledge and cultural traditions.

On Saturday, Indigenous Services Canada Minister Patty Hadju presented Nora with the Coronation Medal at a ceremony at Lakehead University, where Matawa CEO David Paul Achneepineskum also received a Coronation Medal.

The medal commemorates the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III as King of Canada and honours those who have made a significant contribution to Canada. Canada has issued the Coronation Medal to 30,000 recipients who receive a 32-millimetre circular nickel silver medal featuring an effigy of King Charles III designed by British sculptor Martin Jennings.

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For more information please contact Charnel Anderson, Communications Generalist – Matawa First Nations, at (807) 621-9405 or by email at canderson@matawa.on.ca.

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