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The Israel and Maylene
Ludwig Aboriginal
Nesiyah Award
By Marshall Wiebe
In Hebrew the word for journey is ‘nesiyah.’ Israel and Maylene Ludwig,
who have established an endowed fund of $100,000 for Aboriginal
students in their name in the Faculty of Law - the Israel and Maylene
Ludwig Aboriginal Nesiyah Award - hope their support will encourage
others embarking on their own journey.
In the fall of 2011, President David Barnard made
an historic apology on behalf of the University of
Manitoba to survivors of the Indian Residential School
System in Canada. In his remarks, President Barnard
noted that “the journey of reconciliation is far from
over. In many ways we are at the beginning.”
“We know how difficult journeys can be,” Maylene
Ludwig (BN/72) said. “Many students of Aboriginal
descent are on a journey as a result of the setbacks
they have had along the way. We felt that adding
the word ‘journey’ to this award is a component
we wanted people to understand. There’s an
exploration that these students are going through
and from that exploration you become a better
person and will be able to help others in your
community and yourselves.”
Her husband Israel Ludwig (LLB/72) agrees, noting
the links between the struggles and journeys of the
Jewish and Aboriginal peoples.
“I thought the word fit well in our cultural Jewish
background as well as the Aboriginal background,”
he said. “There’s all types of journeys, and for those
who are coming to law school, most of them are
coming from very underprivileged backgrounds,
and yet, when they graduate as a lawyer, they
come out as someone who’s looked upon with
respect in the greater community. So, particularly
for an Aboriginal person, to go through that
transition is a major journey.”
The purpose of the Israel and Maylene Ludwig
Aboriginal Nesiyah Award is to support Aboriginal
17 ROBSON HALL ALUMNI REPORT