A native artist and a television producer were among those honoured at Canada's National Aboriginal Achievement Awards.

The annual awards, handed out in Edmonton on Friday night, celebrate the accomplishments of 14 native people in areas such as health, law, political science and culture.

Actor Adam Beach, who recently starred in the Clint Eastwood-directed Flags of Our Fathers, hosted the gala.

Multimedia artist Joane Cardinal-Schubert was one of the recipients of a prize. A Blackfoot from Alberta, Cardinal-Schubert's paintings and installations are known for their "penetrating ideas on contemporary First Nations experiences and [their] denunciation of Euro-American religious and governmental systems."

She has exhibited around the world including London, Tokyo and Paris, as well as in South America, Sweden and Korea.

The Calgary-based artist received a Commemorative Medal of Canada in 1993 for her contributions to the arts.

Cardinal-Schubert says her favourite childhood memory is of a walk she took in the countryside with her father when she was four years old. "He said, 'You have to be so careful as every footstep you take will change all things.'"

Also on hand for the celebrations on Friday evening was television producer Lisa Meeches, honoured for being a "media trailblazer."

The Manitoba-born Meeches, who is a trained herbalist, created programs during the 1980s that explored traditional native stories.

Meeches, who comes from the Long Plain First Nation, heads two Winnipeg production companies.

She has produced four feature documentaries, is the co-host of the documentary series The Sharing Circle, and is the executive producer of the puppet program Tipi Tales.

The children's show — shown on APTN — follows Ojibway cousins who learn about the forest animals and aboriginal teachings during visits to their great-grandparents' home.