Lorna B. Williams - North Vancouver

Lorna Williams is a First Nations woman whose goal has been to help people from all heritages understand each other.

Born in Mount Currie, in the St'at'yemc Nation, Lorna Williams first trained at BCIT to become a nurse, following in the tradition of her mother, who was a health care giver in the community.

Lorna Williams subsequently moved to education, where she has been involved in improving the lot of First Nations children in the public school system. In 1973, after taking local control of the administration of the Mount Currie Community School, she worked to develop a teacher training program to provide First Nations teachers for the school, who could teach in their own language.

Her work as a First Nations specialist with the Vancouver School Board has allowed he to influence educational opportunities for urban native youths in the Vancouver area.

Her education continued with a teaching certificate from Simon Fraser University, followed by a Bachelors of General Studies; a Masters degree in education is next. In 1982 she finished her book Exploring Mount Currie, which became a prescribed text for the Grade 2 Social Studies curriculum in the province.

Lorna Williams has worked to get First Nations involvement in the Canadian constitution, both in Ottawa and in Europe where she was part of a team that met with governments and media to encourage them to include First Nations people in the constitution.