Aaju Peter

Born in Arkisserniaq, a northern Greenland community, in 1960 Aaju has lived up and down the west coast of her native country as a result of her father’s teaching and preaching career. At age eleven, Aaju left Greenland to attend school in Denmark where she learned to speak Danish and read German, English, French and Latin. At age eighteen, she returned home to Greenland. In 1981, Aaju moved to Iqaluit, in Nunavut, Canada where she has taken up residence ever since. In Iqaluit Aaju learned English and Inuktitut, which has helped her succeed in her work as an interpreter, and she has done volunteer work with various women’s and interpretation organizations. Her interests led her to the Arctic College where she took Inuit studies. She has travelled in Greenland, Europe and Canada performing lamp lighting ceremonies, traditional Inuit songs, displaying sealskin fashions. Currently Aaju has a home-based sealskin garment business, translates, collects traditional law from elders, raised her five children, drove a dump-truck to build the breakwater in Iqaluit, has worked as a cultural guide in the tourism industry sailing to most communities in Greenland and arctic Canada. Aaju is a graduate of the Akitsiraq Law School (2005) and was called to the bar (2007). In recent years Aaju has been involved with documentaries such as Angry Inuk, Tunniit: Retracing the lines of Inuit tattoos, and Arctic Defenders. These days Aaju is advocating for Inuit rights to seal and sealskin products as well as the Inuit right to be involved in issues related to Arctic waters. Aaju received the Order of Canada on December 30, 2011.  

Albert McLeod

Albert McLeod is a Status Indian with ancestry from Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation and the Metis communities of Cross Lake and Norway House in northern Manitoba. He has over thirty years of experience as a human rights activist and was one of the founders of the 2-Spirited People of Manitoba. 

Albert began his 2Spirit advocacy in Winnipeg in 1986 and became an HIV/AIDS activist in 1987. He was the director of the Manitoba Aboriginal AIDS Task Force from 1991 to 2001. In 2018, Albert received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Winnipeg. He was also a member of the sub-working group that produced the MMIWG – 2SLGBTQQIA+ National Action Plan Report in 2020-2021. In 2020, Albert joined Team Thunderhead, the team that recently won the international competition to design the 2SLGBTQI+ National Monument in Ottawa. 

Albert lives in Winnipeg, where he works as a consultant specializing in Indigenous Peoples, 2Spirit history and identity, cultural reclamation, and cross-cultural training. 

Aly Bear

Aly Bear is the third Vice-Chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), and a proud Dakota Winyan and Anishinaabekwe from the Whitecap Dakota Nation. Vice-Chief Aly is the youngest woman and first lawyer to be elected to the FSIN executive. 

Aly is a proud mother to her two daughters who continue to be her reason for pursuing a higher education and serving her people. Aly was called to the Saskatchewan Bar in 2021 and her primary focus has been revitalizing and implementing traditional Indigenous laws and finding expression for these laws in modern-day Indigenous governance structures. Aly developed and applied her legal skills while working for Gowling WLG Law Firm’s Vancouver office and McKercher LLP in Saskatoon. 

Aly dedicated herself to advance her education attending the University of Saskatchewan, earning a bachelor’s degree majoring in Sociology and minoring in Indigenous Studies (with distinction). She obtained her Juris Doctorate from the U of S, College of Law where she served as the Vice-President of Indigenous Relations for two consecutive years. 

Chief Robert Joseph

KwinKwinXwaligedzi-Wakas – Chief Robert Joseph is one of the hereditary chiefs of the Gwawaenuk Tribe.  He co-founded and co-lead Reconciliation Canada from 2012 until 2020; an idea born from a vision he had of 50,000 people walking together in the spirit of unity.  A dream that came to fruition when 70,000 people came together for The Walk for Reconciliation in 2013. Collectively, we hoped and worked toward Reconciliation – building a better Canada for generations to come. 
 
Chief Joseph, a recipient of Indspire’s LIfetime Achievement Award, many other awards numerous honorary doctorates, was the co-founder and former Ambassador for Reconciliation Canada and a former member of the National Assembly of First Nations Elders Council. He was an Executive Director of the Indian Residential School Survivors Society and is an honourary witness to Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). As Chairman of the Native American Leadership Alliance for Peace and Reconciliation and Ambassador for Peace and Reconciliation with the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IFWP), Chief Joseph has sat with the leaders of South Africa, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia and Washington, DC to learn from and share his understanding of faith, hope, healing and reconciliation.

Cindy Blackstock

A member of the Gitxsan First Nation, Cindy Blackstock is the Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and a professor at McGill University’s School of Social Work. She has over 30 years of experience working in child welfare and Indigenous children’s rights and has published on topics relating to reconciliation, Indigenous theory, First Nations child welfare, and human rights. A recipient of the SSHRC Gold Medal, Cindy worked with First Nations colleagues on a successful human rights challenge to Canada’s inequitable provision of child and family services and failure to implement Jordan’s Principle. This hard-fought litigation resulted in hundreds of thousands of services being provided to First Nations children, youth, and families. 

Cindy is frequently sighted in the company of the Caring Society’s reconciliation Ambearrister, Spirit Bear, engaging children in meaningful actions to implement the TRC Calls to Action. 

https://fncaringsociety.com/ 

Clint Davis

Clint Davis is an Inuk from Nunatsiavut, Labrador, and CEO of Cedar Leaf Capital, Canada’s first majority Indigenous-owned investment dealer dedicated to increasing Indigenous participation in capital markets. With more than 20 years of experience working with Indigenous communities and development corporations nationwide, Clint is recognized as a national leader in Indigenous business. His contributions have been honoured with the Inspire Award in Business and Commerce, Acadia University’s Distinguished Alumni Award and Dalhousie University’s Alumni Award.

Connie Walker

Connie Walker is a Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award-winning investigative journalist and host of the acclaimed podcasts Stolen and Missing & Murdered. Her work has exposed the crisis of violence in Indigenous communities and the devastating impacts of intergenerational trauma stemming from Indian Residential Schools.

Walker is currently an Assistant Professor and Velma Rogers Research Chair at Toronto Metropolitan University where she is leading the Indian Residential School Records Project to preserve testimonies and accounts from Indian Residential School Survivors. Walker is a member of the Okanese First Nation in Saskatchewan. 

Dr. Kisha Supernant

Dr. Kisha Supernant (Métis/British) is the Director of the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology and a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alberta. Her research focuses on Métis archaeology, digital archaeology, and heart-centered archaeological practice. Dr. Supernant collaborates extensively with Indigenous communities in western Canada, emphasizing ethical research relationships and Indigenous rights to cultural heritage. 
 
Her work integrates Indigenous ways of knowing into archaeological processes, from excavation to interpretation. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing, she supports Indigenous communities to tell their stories and reclaim their cultural heritage. She leads the Exploring Métis Identity Through Archaeology (EMITA), a collaborative research project which takes a relational approach to exploring the material past of Métis communities, including her own family, in western Canada. Dr. Supernant has also been at the forefront of using technology to locate and protect unmarked graves near residential schools over the past several years. 
 
Her scholarly contributions include peer-reviewed journal publications, co-edited books, media interviews, and knowledge mobilization initiatives. She is the Chair of the Canadian Archaeological Association’s Working Group on Unmarked Graves, which received the 2024 Governor General’s Innovation Award. Dr. Supernant’s achievements led to her induction into the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists in 2021, and she received the Dorothy Killam Fellowship in 2023. 

Jared Visitor

Jared is in his final year of Teacher’s College, working towards becoming a teacher in remote northern communities. He has been helping to fight forest fires for over 10 years all over Canada. Jared loves to speak to youth about his experiences and learning in the subject of trauma and psychology. He volunteers regularly with youth and enjoys singing and playing guitar. He works for the Anthropology department at Lakehead University and is currently training for a half marathon. Jared is the great-nephew of Chanie Wenjack, the 12-year-old boy whose death in 1966 sparked national attention and led to the first inquest into the treatment of children at residential schools. 

JP Gladu

JP Gladu is currently Principal of Mokwateh and previously served as the President and CEO of the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business for approximately eight years. Mr. Gladu has nearly 35 years of experience in the natural resource sector including working with Indigenous communities and organizations, environmental non-government organizations, industry and governments from across Canada and the globe.  

Mr. Gladu serves on the boards of Suncor, the Institute of Corporate Directors, Superior Plus, BHP’s Forum for Corporate Responsibility, Domtar’s Sustainability Committee and most recently the Major Projects Office Indigenous Advisory Committee. He has completed a forestry technician diploma from Sault College, obtained an undergraduate degree in forestry from Northern Arizona University, holds an Executive MBA from Queens University, an ICD.D from Rotman School of Management University of Toronto, an honorary doctorate in law from Carleton University in 2024 and an honorary doctorate in business from Lakehead University in 2025.  

He is a senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and served as the Chancellor of St. Paul’s University College Waterloo from 2017 to 2020. JP’s achievements have been recognized by the Public Policy Forum as a prestigious 2024 Honouree and the Premiers Award. 

Niigaan Sinclair

Niigaan Sinclair is Anishinaabe from Peguis First Nation. He is an award-winning writer, editor, and professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba, who was named one of the most influential people in Canada by Maclean’s magazine in 2022. Niigaan is a multiple nominee of Canadian columnist of the year (winning in 2018), and his commentary appears weekly on multiple platforms across Canada – from the pages of The Winnipeg Free Press to TV shows on CBC, APTN, and on his co-hosted podcast ‘Niigaan and the Lone Ranger’. 

His first book Wînipêk: Visions of Canada from an Indigenous Centre (McClelland & Stewart, 2024), was a national bestseller that won the 2024 Governor General Award for non-fiction. He is a former secondary school teacher who won the 2019 Peace Educator of the Year from the Peace and Justice Studies Association based at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

Robert Doane

Robert Doane is Senior Director of the Indigenous Office at CBC/Radio-Canada and the lead for the corporation’s first National Indigenous Strategy, Strengthening Relations, Walking Together. In this role, he advances a multi-year plan centred on Indigenous voices, expanding partnerships, language presence, content and workforce initiatives, and oversees progress reporting across the public broadcaster. Robert began his CBC career in 2006 and went on to serve as researcher, reporter, host and producer then leaving the organization in 2018 to work for a non-profit. He returned in the role of Advisor in 2020 as part of the Equity & Inclusion office, moving to the role of Senior Director of the Indigenous Office at CBC/Radio-Canada in 2024. 

He holds an MBA (Leadership) from Royal Roads University and is an alumnus of CBC’s Developing Emerging Leaders program. Robert lives on Lheidli T’enneh territory, in British Columbia, where he continues to champion relationship-building with First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities and to support teams in delivering respectful, accurate storytelling. 

Salia Joseph

Salia Joseph is from the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and Snuneymuxw First Nation’s on her father’s side and is British and Jewish on her mothers. Salia is a graduate from the First Nations and Indigenous studies program from the University of British Columbia. Salia is a Squamish language learner and is the executive director of The Sníchim Foundation which is a Sḵwx̱wú7mes language and culture non-profit. In addition to her language work Salia is the co-owner of Host Consulting Inc. which focuses on public art and elevating the designs and work of Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleilwaututh artists. Salia is very passionate about where she comes from and is and learning constantly about what it means to be Sḵwx̱wú7mesh. Salia is a community organizer and facilitator dedicated to Indigenous rights, culture and politics and passionate about youth and women advocacy work.”I think about my future, the future of my family, my community, it continually comes back to language” 

Stephanie Tuurngaq Gilbert

Originally from Iglulik, Nunavut, Stephanie is an Inuk nurse, Indigenous advocate and mother of two who grew up in Iqaluit. Stephanie currently works as the Director Public Health and Primary Care, for the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority. Outside of her job, Stephanie’s advocacy and education work is focused on supporting and developing Indigenous history and cultural safety training in nursing programs to inform not only knowledge (truth) but also understanding and conscious participation of nurses (reconciliation) in their practice. The focus is on strengthening the allyship of nurses towards the common goal of equity in health care for Indigenous People.

Stewart Gonzales

l am Sempulyan, my late mother is Norma Campbell (Musqueam), my late father is Harvey Tsialten-t Gonzales, my late maternal grandmother is Amy Teresa Paull (Squamish), my late maternal grandfather is Sylvester Campbell (Musqueam). My late paternal grandmother is Ethel Lucy Jerome (Tsimshian), my late paternal grandfather is Johnny Kwestanaxen-t Gonzales. My late maternal great-grandmother is Theresa Charlie and my late maternal great-grandfather is Dan Paull (both are Squamish). My late paternal greatgrandmother is Emma Chatatolt-t Tsialten (Squamish) and my late paternal great grandfather is Peter Gonzales (Maule).  Sempluyan was elected as a General Councillor for the Squamish Nation during the September 2021 election. I am now 65 years old a father of 3, a grandfather of 13 & great-grandfather of 13. I have been Clean and Sober since April 3rd 2007. I am now the the Cultural Advisor to a nonprofit housing organization. I continue to share my Residential School experiences with companies and organizations to bring awareness to the greater community.