About
Judy Clark is a proud Mi’kmaw woman and who is a member of the Abegweit First Nation on PEI. Abegweit is derived from “Epekwitk” the traditional Mi’kmaw word for Prince Edward Island and means, “lying on the waters.”
Judy’s educational background includes attending the Lennox Island Indian Day School and Morell Regional High School. She has a background in finance with federal government and has earned a Certificate of Conflict Resolution Studies from the University of Prince Edward Island. Professionally, she has worked at the federal Department of National Defense, the Abegweit First Nation, and the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of PEI.
Judy’s most important educational experiences, however, have come from her family and the Mi’kmaq Elders of Mi’kma’ki, the traditional territory of the Mi’kmaq in the Atlantic provinces. She has also been influenced by a variety of Elder and Aboriginal traditions and teachings from across Turtle Island (Canada). She takes great pride in the knowledge and skills of the “Mi’kmaq way of life” and in being able to share that way of life so that others may have a better understanding of whom the Mi’kmaq of PEI are.
She is extremely active in her community and is committed to Aboriginal and women’s issues within PEI and in Canada generally. She is the president of the Aboriginal Womens’ Association of PEI, an executive member of the Native Womens’ Association of Canada, is the PEI representative for the RCMP Commissioner’s National Aboriginal Advisory Committee, sits on the Premier’s Action Committee on Family Violence Prevention, is a Mi’kmaw Circle Keeper with PEI’s Aboriginal Justice Program, and has been a volunteer member of Girl Guides of Canada for 30 years. Over the years, Judy has also been a valuable contributor and advisor to numerous Mi’kmaw language, spiritualality and cultural initiatives on PEI and has shared her expertise in many school classrooms and at university settings.
Judy was presented the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of her work and has recently shared her traditional knowledge in joint projects with Park Canada, the PEI provincial government agencies, the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of PEI and the Abegweit First Nation.
With her support of her husband, John, she leads her life in accordance with her teachings of her Elders; she is a proud mother of two daughters and grandmother to three granddaughters and a grandson.