For her role in the British Columbia treaty process and for her commitment to First Nations’ economic development.
Sophie Pierre is a highly respected Indigenous leader who has blazed a trail for a generation of women in British Columbia. As long-time chief of the St. Mary's Band Council, co-chair of the First Nations Summit, and chief commissioner of the BC Treaty Commission, she has championed the economic and political integration of Indigenous communities as a means to self-determination. Notable among her achievements is an innovative collaboration between Indigenous groups that redeveloped a residential school on her reserve into a destination resort, transforming an infamous relic of the past into a symbol of future prosperity.