Herb Belcourt
Herb Belcourt is an entrepreneur and philanthropist from Lac Ste. Anne, Alberta. He was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws by the University of Alberta in 2001, and was also the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business in 2016. He has been inducted into both Alberta’s Hall of Fame and Edmonton's Hall of Fame, and January 20 was recently declared Herb Belcourt Day in Sherwood Park, Alberta.
Books (1)
Synopsis:
Reflecting on his evolving identity as a human being, a Canadian and a Métis westerner, Herb Belcourt tells the remarkable story of one familys enduring connection to the dramatic history of western Canada. Belcourt traces his ancestry directly to an early French-Canadian voyageur and his Cree-Métis wife who lived in Ruperts Land after 1800. The eldest of ten children, Belcourt grew up in a small log home near Lac Ste. Anne during the Depression. His father purchased furs from local First Nations and Métis trappers and, with arduous work, began a family fur trading business that survives to this day. When Belcourt left home at 15 to become a labourer in coal mines and sawmills, his father told him to save his money so he could work for himself. Over the next three decades, Belcourt began a number of small Alberta businesses that prospered and eventually enabled him to make significant contributions to the Métis community in Alberta.
Suggested Grades: 9-12
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