Born in Lamont, Alberta, to a Métis family of ten children, Muriel Stanley Venne is a champion of human rights, whose career has spanned nearly fifty years. Her work has advanced the fair treatment of Indigenous Peoples within all levels of society, focusing primarily on the promotion of women’s rights. Her activist path began when former Premier Peter Lougheed appointed her as commissioner to the Alberta Human Rights Commission in 1973. In 1994, she founded the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women (IAAW). She has been recognized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and has received numerous awards for her tireless advocacy, including the Alberta Human Rights Award, the Order of Canada, the Governor General’s Commemorative Medal for the Person’s Case, and Queen Elizabeth II’s Gold and Diamond Jubilee Medals.