A Wasauksing man has received the 2016 Chapin A’sin Elder Vern Harper Award. On Wednesday, John Rice was presented the award in Toronto for Excellence in the Provision of Culturally-Based Practice and his contribution to the healing and well-being of Aboriginal people. Rice currently works for the Canadian Mental Health Association of Simcoe County where he is the first traditional healer to be employed by the organization. He was humbled and really appreciative of the people who nominated him saying he knows Vern personally and the work he’s done so for him to receive an award named after him means a lot. Rice has also been involved with the Aboriginal community in northeast Ontario for over 30 years.
