Announcing the 2024 Indigenous Resource Leader Award Winner: David MacPhee

David MacPhee

President & CEO

Aseniwuche Winewak Nation/Aseniwuche Development Corporation

We’re excited to reveal that David MacPhee is the recipient of the 2024 Indigenous Resource Leader Award!

David MacPhee serves as the President of the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation of Canada (AWN), also known as the Rocky Mountain People. AWN’s ancestors migrated westward with the fur trade, settling in what is now Jasper National Park in the early 1800s. However, following the park’s establishment in 1907, the federal government relocated the community in 1909 to the Grande Cache area. Today, AWN members reside across seven land parcels spread along an 80-kilometer stretch of Highway 40, both north and south of Grande Cache.

Between 1971 and 1973, under provincial government direction, the community structured itself into four cooperatives and two enterprises to gain legal ownership of these lands, totaling 4,159 acres. Like many Indigenous communities across Canada, the people of Grande Cache have faced significant challenges. However, under David’s leadership and guided by the philosophy, “As caretakers of the earth, we commit to work together … in unity, in faith, for life,” AWN has become widely recognized by the province, local government, and industry as a model of resilience, vision, and collaboration.

David is the President and CEO of AWN, where he plays a key role in balancing resource development with environmental stewardship. Under his leadership, ADC has built a strong reputation for delivering high-quality, on-time, and budget-conscious services to the resource sector.

David’s roots run deep in the region. Raised in a remote community north of Grande Cache by his grandparents, he grew up immersed in a traditional Indigenous lifestyle. In addition to his formal education, he is an experienced logger, and skilled translator.

A devoted family man, David shares his life with his wife, Yvonne, and their five children—Clyde, Bonnie, Yvette, John, and Iris.

Celebrate Mr. MacPhee’s outstanding achievements, along with those of our other award recipients, at the Alberta Chamber of Resources Annual General Meeting and Awards Banquet on March 20, 2025, at the Edmonton Convention Centre.

Tickets are on sale now! Don’t miss your chance to be part of this special evening—get yours before they’re gone!