EDMONTON -- Eight Albertans are being inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence Thursday afternoon.

The Alberta Order of Excellence, a part of the Canadian Honours System, has inducted 173 Albertans since 1979.

This year's inductees include two people from the Edmonton area: Muriel Stanley Venne and Robert Burrell.

Venne, of Edmonton, is known for her work to protect Indigenous women and the equal treatment of Indigenous people in society. She received an Alberta Human Rights Award for her contributions to social justice, and she was the first Indigenous woman to have an Alberta government building named in her honour.

Burrell, of Sherwood Park, is a biomedical engineer, researcher and professor, who "revolutionized" burn and wound care. He has received a number of awards, including the 2008 World Union of Would Healing Societies' Lifetime Achievement Award.

The other recipients are Bonnie DuPont, Frances Wright, Beckie Scott, Malcolm Sissons, Ron Sakamoto and Katie Ohe.

The ceremony is taking place at the Government House.