Stevenson, Theresa (1926-)

Theresa Stevenson and Ovide Mercredi (then national chief of the Assembly of First Nations) at a fundraising dinner for Chili for Children, May 1996.

Don Healy (Regina Leader-Post)

Born on the Cowessess First Nation on June 26, 1926, Stevenson was taken to the residential school at Marieval at age 6 and remained there until age 15. In 1950 she married Robert Stevenson; they had three children. In 1955 they moved to Montana, and lived there until their return to Regina in 1970. In the late 1970s Stevenson founded Regina Indian Community Awareness, Inc. (RICA) and served as executive director. RICA provided urban First Nations people with housing, food, clothing, and social services. She was instrumental in developing and maintaining Silver Sage Housing, which provides low-income housing to First Nations people. In the mid-1980s she developed Chili for Children, a program that continues to provide hot lunches for Aboriginal school children in low-income Regina neighbourhoods. She served as senator in the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians (FSIN) from 2001 to 2003. Present community involvements include membership in the Saskatchewan First Nations Women's Council. Stevenson's many awards include FSIN Citizen of the Year (1988), Member of the Order of Canada (1994), Saskatchewan Order of Merit (1995), National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Community Development (1999), and an honorary degree from the University of Regina (1999).

Daria Coneghan