A 24-year-old woman from Fort Simpson is among several NWT residents being recognized this year for their trapping skills.

Jonah Sanguez was one of five people honoured in the youth category as part of the 2016-2017 Trapper Recognition Awards.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources announced the winners Dec. 13.

"I was pretty shocked and excited at the same time, because I was unaware (of) the awards," said Sanguez, who was the youth winner for the Dehcho Region.

This is her first trapping award. The youth category honours the youngest person in the region who has sent fur to auction.

"It was quite a shock, but it makes me very proud of where I came from and the things that I've been taught," she said.

Sanguez, whose family hails from Jean Marie River, has spent much of her young life learning traditions and being on the land.

She traps martens, rabbits and squirrels, she said, and sells her furs.

Her mother and uncles are responsible for passing down those trapping skills to her, she said.

"My couple cousins and I would go with them on the Ski-Doo and check the trapline and snares," said Sanguez. "This all happens at a lake where my great grandparents used to live."

Sanguez also credits a course she took in high school for her continued passion for trapping.

In her senior year, an officer from the environment department would take students out on the trapline so they could learn how to trap martens and skin beavers.

"That course gave me an opportunity to travel to North Bay, Ont. SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½¦ to see the Fur Harvesters Auction where they bought and sold the fur," said Sanguez.

With around 700 people in the NWT still sending furs to auction, trapping remains an honourable profession for Indigenous people, said Scott McQueen, traditional economy co-ordinator at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

"They take a lot of pride in their abilities, because trapping is not just harvesting the fur-bearing animals," he said. "It's an overall lifestyle."

The GNWT supports trappers through the Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Program.

It provides trappers with resources like advance payments for furs waiting to be sold at auction, funds to help them with start-up costs at the beginning of the season and bonuses for strong market sales.

"To highlight the top trappers, we came up with awards SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ the Trappers Recognition Awards," McQueen said.

There were four award categories this year SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ highest sales, highest harvest, senior and youth acknowledgements SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ with a winner from each NWT region.

The rest of the winners announced by the department are:

Highest Sales

Sheldon Boucher (Fort Resolution) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ South Slave Region

Joseph Mantla (Behchoko) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ North Slave Region

Robert Kochon (Colville Lake) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ Sahtu Region

Charlie Tale (Wrigley) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ Dehcho Region

Jim Elias (Tuktoyaktuk) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ Inuvik Region

Highest Harvest

Devon Beck (Fort Resolution) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ South Slave Region

Carl R. Williams (Yellowknife) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ North Slave Region

Robert Kochon (Colville Lake) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ Sahtu Region

Roger Bertrand (Fort Liard) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ Dehcho Region

Ellen Joy Firth (Inuvik) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ Inuvik Region

Senior Acknowledgements

Gabe Wanderingspirit (Fort Smith) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ South Slave Region

Edward Catholique (Lutsel K'e) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ North Slave Region

George Voudrack (Fort Good Hope) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ Sahtu Region

Frances Nahanni (Fort Simpson) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ Dehcho Region

Danny C. Gordon (Aklavik) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ Inuvik Region

Youth

Kellan Mandeville (Hay River) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ South Slave Region

Lucas Enzo-Casaway (Lutsel K'e) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ North Slave Region

Veronique Kochon (Colville Lake) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ Sahtu Region

Jonah Sanguez (Jean Marie River) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ Dehcho Region

Bradley Firth (Inuvik) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½“ Inuvik Region