Speakers

Barbara Bruce, Flies High Thunderbird and Truth Talker, Wolf Clan 

Barbara Bruce is two-spirit, Elder, Kookum, Sundance Chief and pipe carrier whose life embodies resilience, reconciliation and profound service to Indigenous and two-spirit communities across Canada. A citizen of the Red River Métis Nation from the community of St. Laurent, Manitoba, Ms. Bruce overcame tuberculosis and colonial barriers to become an entrepreneur and champion for justice. She attended a mission/day school in St. Laurent.   

From her early work with the Manitoba Métis Federation to founding All My Relations and AMR Planning Inc., national Indigenous consulting firms, Ms. Bruce has bridged Indigenous and non-Indigenous worlds with integrity and strategic vision. She managed and co-authored the groundbreaking Options for Action report on child welfare reform following the Phoenix Sinclair inquiry in Manitoba, led cultural awareness training for private sector, crown corporations and organizations, facilitated national and regional consultations on health, housing and violence against Indigenous women, girls and Two Spirit people and was directly involved with five of the seven TRC National Events.   

As a co-lead of UM’s Indigenous Identity Policy, and as Knowledge Keeper for Red River College Polytechnic, Elder for The Feast Centre (McMaster University), Grandmother for the Alternative Clinical Trials (University of Alberta) among others, she advances Truth and Reconciliation daily in the province of Manitoba, nationally and globally. She co-founded Medicine Wolf Healing Place where she is the co-chief of North America’s first Two-Spirit Sundance Ceremony and she was an international observer and peace monitor of the first democratic election in South Africa. 

Throughout her distinguished career, she has earned many Honours, including two Honourary Doctor of Laws, the Order of Manitoba, the Manitoba 150 Women Trailblazer Award, the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, the King Charles III Coronation Medal and was recognized by the Indigenous community as a Kookum/Grandmother by Keeping the Fires Burning.   

Barbara Bruce exemplifies the transformative power of Indigenous knowledge and leadership.  

“Stands Strong Eagle Woman” 

Charlotte is a 75 year old Metis woman, who survived the Indian Day Schools and the infamous 60’s Scoop. During her lifetime Miss Nolin overcame many hurdles placed in her path, such as an early addiction to heroin and violence at the hands of those who paid for her services. She survived a suicide attempt at the age of 21 when, she felt the world didn’t really want her there. Miss Nolin attempted to transition at the age of 17 but quickly found out how homophobic and transphobic Canada was. She returned to the closet rather than face death at the age of 24. Charlotte then entered the world of construction  and soon realised she was a fast learner, becoming a foreman by her third year in the industry.  

At 40 years of age Charlotte changed careers and began her journey in social work. This became such a rewarding journey, protecting those that couldn’t protect themselves. Charlotte remembers when she was instrumental in the repatriation of a 5 year old girl from BC to her relatives in The Pas Manitoba. Charlotte decided to retire in 2020 after suffering 2 heart attacks in a 3 week period.   

Today Charlotte enjoys life as her true self after completing her transition in 2017.  Charlotte remembers the day she decided she was going to fulfill her lifelong dream of being who she truly was. It was on August 04, 2015 as she went to the corner store to get a pack of smokes. On the way there, she encountered a group of children playing on the sidewalk. One of the little boys looked at her and asked “Are you a man or woman?”  She replied “Honey, I may look masculine on the outside but inside I’m all woman.” They continued to play and that was highlight of her day. If children could accept her as who she truly was then adults would have to learn the same lesson. 

Charlotte was the recipient of the 2010 “Spirit of the Earth awards” from Manitoba Hydro. Later in 2014 she received the “Keeping the Fires Burning” award from Ka Ni Kanichihk for her commitment to her people and in 2025 she received the “King Charles Medal” for her dedication to the people. 

Today Charlotte leads her 2Spirit community in Sundance along with her sister Barbara. She is also an Elder in residence at the University of Manitoba and also does work for the NRCAN department of the Federal government.

 Jaylene Tyme (Jaylene McRae) is a celebrated Two-Spirit Indigenous sober trans woman, Vancouver drag legend, and Canada’s Drag Race Season 5 Miss Congeniality. In August 2026, she was crowned Queen Mother II of All Canada, using her platform to champion sobriety, community, advocacy, and empowerment. 

A Sixties Scoop survivor, Jaylene was raised by settlers and has ancestral roots in Treaty 4. She is registered with Zagime Anishinabek First Nation with maternal roots in Kawacatoose First Nation, and Métis Nation of Green Lake, Saskatchewan. 

Jaylene is the Community Engagement Lead with the Two-Spirit Program at the Community-Based Research Centre (CBRC), where she works to make research more accessible, inclusive, and meaningful. For Jaylene, accessible research means creating space for people—especially those historically excluded—to have a voice, advocate for what they need, and help shape the knowledge and decisions that affect their lives. 

She believes in the power of community and in creating change through passion, integrity, positivity, and the celebration of identities that are beautifully diverse and wonderfully unique. 

Tanya Ball (she/her) is a Michif woman, born in wînipêk, manidoobaa. She currently resides in amiskwaciwâskahikan where she is a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Native Studies at University of Alberta. While Tanya is a member of the Otipimisiwak Métis Government (formerly Metis Nation of Alberta), she has filial ties to the marsh, growing up with stories about the St. Ambroise community. Professionally, she works as an Assistant Professor at Concordia University of Edmonton in Indigenous Studies. Her research interests center around Michif experiences of: community-led research, data governance, storytelling, and gender.

Shirley Delorme Russell is a proud Métis woman and humble Anisinaabekwe.  

Her mom is a Delorme and Ducharme from Red River (Manitoba). Her dad is a Saugese and Russell from Blind River/Mississauga FN although he never lived in his community but was raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario.  

She has lived most of her life in Winnipeg where she raised two incredible fiercely Métis – Anisinaabe young adults. 

Shirley worked for most of her career at the Louis Riel Institute of the Manitoba Métis Federation. She was a teacher in Winnipeg School Division and most recently an Indigenous Librarian Intern at the University of Manitoba Libraries. She is currently the Manager of Indigenous Initiatives for L’offis Wiichihiwak (formerly Office of Vice-President, Indigenous). UManitoba is creating a policy to affirm Indigenous citizenship and membership for staff, students and faculty. Shirley’s job will be to lead a team implementing the policy.  

Most recently graduating with a Master of Library & Information Studies (UAlberta 2026), Shirley is a Métis historian and community educator, calling herself a “history nerd”. She aims to know everything she can. Her parents weren’t able to teach her and so she now learns for them, her children and her community.  She has been mentored in these roles by Lawrie Barkwell (Indigenous ally, longtime employee and volunteer of MMF) and Lyle Ford (Métis, long time UM Librarian). She names herself “a history nerd” and it is because her parents could not teach her that she did everything she could to learn for them.

Nicki Ferland is a two-spirit Red River Métis mother, wife, aunty and helper. She is an educator, writer, and researcher whose work focuses on Métis women and two-spirit people and their relationships with land in Winnipeg. Her parents are both descended from scrip-bearing Métis families with ancestral roots in St. Vital and St-Boniface (Winnipeg), and Lorette, Manitoba. Her relations include the Lagimodière, Goulet, Poitras, Beauchemin, Grant, Ducharme, Harrison and Fisher families. She is a harvester registered with the Manitoba Métis Federation and is actively member of the Two-Spirit Michif Local. Nicki completed her master’s in Indigenous land-based education at the University of Saskatchewan and is currently working on her PhD in Education. She is the Director of Land Based Education and Indigenous Curriculum at the University of Manitoba.

Dani B is the alter ego of an MMF citizen, a Librarian, and an adoring fan of queer mischiefs.

Lydia Toorenburgh (they/them) is a Two-Spirit Bungi-otipemisiwak and mixed settler person living with permission as a visitor on lək̓ʷəŋən territory, colonially known as Victoria, BC. Their Metis family names are Bruce, Cook, Short, and McNabb with roots in the Red River Settlement and Portage le Prairie. Today, Lydia and their relatives are registered citizens of both Métis Nation BC and the chartered community of Greater Victoria. 

As a grassroots community organizer, Lydia has volunteered in Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer leadership and advocacy at the regional, provincial, and national level. In their scholarship, Lydia is a two times alumnus of the University of Victoria’s Anthropology and Indigenous Studies programs and is now pursuing their PhD in Anthropology with a certificate in Indigenous Nationhood. Their research areas include Indigenous and Métis studies, audio-visual anthropology, and participatory and community-engaged research. Their previous research applied the methods of kiyokewin, walking the land, and podcast production with Indigenous research partners who have textual literacy challenges as they shared their experiences in the BC health care system. Wâhkohtôwin guided their work together, valuing the researchers and research participants as relatives and using the findings of the research to the betterment of the broader community including both patients and health care workers. More recently, Lydia has been focusing on 2SLGBTQIA+ Indigenous research including publishing on identity formation and queer performance art as anti-colonial resistance. They are particularly interested in 2SLGBTQIA+ Métis joy, love, and belonging.  

In their doctoral research, Lydia will be working with 2SLGBTQIA+ Métis people to co-produce creative audio-visual projects that share their stories, art, and knowledges to contribute to the revitalization and resurgence of 2SLGBTQIA+ Métis teachings, community roles, and cultures of acceptance in our nation. Kiyokewin continues to be a central method and wâhkohtôwin remains an essential guiding research framework as Lydia conducts their work relationally with the research partners while working to address queer and transphobia in the Metis nation with love and compassion to their cishetero kin. Lydia’s research paradigm is to help their people to pursue collective miyo-pimâtisiwin (the good way of living) which can only be realized and maintained through miyo-wîcihitowin (good relations). Even when having essential but difficult conversations, and identifying harmful people, practices, and systems, Lydia centers their otipemisiwak values of respect, relationality, balance, and love.

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. She is a citizen of the Métis Nation within Alberta and is related to many Métis families throughout the homeland. Some of the surnames of her ancestors, in addition to Supernault, include Knott, Pelletier/Campbell, Linklater, Gauthier/Gaucher, Gladu, Blandion/Dion, Desjarlais, Calihoo/Kwarakante, Grey, Nippising, and Cardinal. 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 and she is a member of the Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars.

Kathleen Frances Wilson (they/she) is a Two-Spirit Métis and mixed-ancestry educator and researcher living with their family in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Kathleen began their career as a secondary school teacher in Winnipeg’s public education system before teaching at the University of Manitoba in communications and teacher training education. Alongside teaching, she worked across faculties on interdisciplinary research and collaborated with Working in Good Ways as a curriculum designer, facilitator, and consultant.  

Kathleen is currently the Director of Researching in Good Ways at the University of Manitoba. She also serves as Chair of the Two-Spirit Michif Local and a board member with Two-Spirit Manitoba since 2023. She holds a Master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies and is currently pursuing a PhD in the same field. 

Angelina Lamy (she/they) is a 2 Spirit, Afro-Colombian, and Red River Métis person and a registered member of the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF). Her Métis roots come from her mother’s side, with family ties to Roostertown, Manitoba, and the Parisien family. Her father’s side is Afro-Colombian, with roots in Cali, Colombia. 

Angelina currently works as a Supervisor with 2 Spirits in Motion Society and sits on the Board of Directors for 2 Spirit Manitoba. Through her work and community involvement, she supports and advocates for BIPOC and 2SLGBTQQIA+ youth. 

She is passionate about equity, representation, reproductive health, and creating spaces where people feel seen, supported, and included. Alongside her professional and community work, Angelina is pursuing her education at the University of Manitoba. Outside of her work and studies, Angelina is a proud wife and fur mom.

katherena vermette (she/her/hers) is a Michif (Red River Métis) writer from Treaty 1 territory, the heart of the Métis Nation, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. 

In 2013, her first book, North End Love Songs (Muses’ Company) won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry. Since then, her work has garnered awards and critical accolades across genres. Her novels The Break (House of Anansi) and The Strangers, The Circle (Hamish Hamilton) and most recently, real ones (Hamish Hamilton) have all been national best sellers and won multiple literary awards. Her work for children and young adults includes the picture book The Girl and The Wolf (Theytus) and graphic novel series A Girl Called Echo (Highwater). She also co-wrote and co-directed This River, winner of the 2017 Canadian Screen Award for Best Short Documentary.

Her third book of poetry, procession (House of Anansi) will be out Sep 30/25. 

Born in Winnipeg, her Michif roots on her paternal side run deep in St. Boniface, St. Norbert and beyond. Her maternal side is Mennonite from the Altona and Rosenfeld area (Treaty 1). 

She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia, and an honourary Doctor of Letters from the University of Manitoba. 

katherena lives with her family in a cranky old house within skipping distance of the temperamental Red River. 

Brenda Macdougall holds a PhD in Native Studies from the University of Saskatchewan and is an expert in the history of Métis communities working closely with traditional knowledge keepers to understand the cultural values and contexts that have shaped the Métis world. Since 2017 she has worked with the Provost’s Office and the Office of Indigenous Affairs to support the Indigenization and decolonization processes at the University of Ottawa. She’s always been lucky enough to hang out with artists, and so is now making a switch in her own research focus to include research creation and making.

Contessa Lestrange is a Red River Métis drag queen born & bred in Winnipeg, Manitoba. A proud Two-Spirit transgender woman, Contessa served as Winnipeg’s Miss Queer Winnipeg 5 and is a member of the Bannock Babes, Winnipeg’s all-Indigenous drag troupe. Outside of drag, she is a beadwork artist who has shown her work in galleries and museums across Canada.

Dr. Laura Forsythe (she/they) is a Métis scholar at the University of Winnipeg in the Faculty of Education and co-founder of the Métis Thinkers Network Non-profit Organization. Forsythe’s research focus is Métis-specific contributions to the academy, Métis inclusion efforts, and educational sovereignty. Forsythe’s contributions include seven edited collections, numerous peer-reviewed publications, and the co-creation of two Indigenous academic journals. She is a citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation. Her kinship ties include the Huppe, Ward, Berard, Morin, Lavallee, and Cyr lines. Her ancestors worked for the Northwest and Hudson’s Bay Companies, fought in the Victory of Frog Plain, and owned Lot 31, the site of a contemporary Métis space called Pakan Town.

KD King (All pronouns) is a proud Métis ayahkwew (ah-yah-kway-oh or Two Spirit) Registered Nurse from Notikewin, Alberta who is also an assistant professor at the University of Alberta Faculty of Native Studies. They are of mixed English & Russian settler and Métis descent and live in Edmonton, Alberta, where they hold a PhD in Nursing and are a researcher, educator and advocate. They conduct community-based research in collaboration with the Métis Nation of Alberta, the Métis Settlements in Alberta, the Métis Nation of Ontario, the Community-Based Research Centre Two-Spirit Program, and other underserved communities to explore health and wellness. They are a practicing Public Health Nurse specializing in sexual and reproductive health. KD is an oskapiew (helper) to Dr. Elder Grandmother Doreen Spence from Saddle Lake Cree Nation, and works closely with the Health Department at the Métis Nation of Alberta and Ontario, and the. KD also volunteers with several communities, including the Métis Nation of Alberta, the Métis Nation of Ontario, and the Edmonton 2Spirit Society. KD invites diverse community voices to their work and brings a trauma-informed, recovery-oriented perspective to Indigenous health, 2Spirit, Queer & Trans health, mental health, and sexual and reproductive health.

Anna Corrigal Flaminio is a daughter, sister, aunty and citizen of the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan. Her maternal family, including Alexander McKay, Catherine McCorrister, John Henry Corrigal and Maria Halcro, dispersed from the Red River (St. Andrew’s) and Assiniboine River (St. Francois Xavier) to the South Saskatchewan River. Her Metis family have lived on river lots south of Prince Albert in the Halcro/St. Louis regions for seven (7) generations, including her Corrigal, Bird, Halcro, and Regnier relations who live in and around the village of St. Louis.

Anna is trained in Law and Social Work and works as an Associate Professor in the Human Development Program in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology in the Faculty of Education at McGill University. Her research focuses on a “kin-visiting” methodology grounded in the prairie Cree-Metis laws of wahkotowin (kin relationships and responsibilities) and kiyokewin (visiting kin) and their application to justice and healing.

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba I am currently is situated within the homeland of my ancestors, the Red River Métis. My family comes from Sagkeeng, St Francois-Xavier and St. Adolphe with my family names including Delorme, Lesperance and McDougall. I am currently pursuing a Master of Science at The University of Winnipeg with a focus on highlighting the impact early life exposure to a maternal high fat diets has on our hunger and satiety cues. Growing up as a black presenting Métis person, I struggled to try and find where I fit in and felt the trap of having to pick one identity to associate with. Coming to the University of Winnipeg in High school I had the opportunity to embrace and explore more of much more of my Métis heritage as well as learn and live the teachings of my people. 

Chantal Fiola is Michif (Red River Métis) with family from St. Laurent, Ste Geneviève, and Ste. Anne, MB and is a registered citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF). Dr Fiola is Associate Vice-President, Indigenous Engagement at the University of Winnipeg, where she maintains an appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Inner-City Studies, and was the Distinguished Indigenous Scholar’s Chair from 2021 to 2024. She is an award-winning author, including for her second book, Returning to Ceremony: Spirituality in Manitoba Métis Communities. Currently, she is Project Director on a study titled, “Expressions of Métis Spirituality and Religion Across the Homeland,” funded, in part, by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Dr Fiola is part of the Circle of Editors for Pawaatamihk [Pah-WAH-tah-mik]: Journal of Métis Thinkers, served as a board member for Two-Spirit Manitoba from 2018-2025, and is a founding member of the Two-Spirit Michif Local (MMF). In 2023, she was selected by Les Femmes Michif Otipimisiwak as a recipient for the Métis Matriarch Award, and in 2025 they honoured her with a King Charles III Coronation Medal. 

Renée Cable was elected as the MLA for Southdale in 2023. She is a proud Métis mom who is passionate about building stronger, healthier communities. 

 
Prior to becoming an MLA, Cable’s background was in management, HR, advocacy and public policy including working in various staff roles in the Manitoba legislature. She has also served on several child-care, community centre and non-profit boards. Cable holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and diplomas in human resource management and management, all from the University of Winnipeg. 
 

Cable grew up in Brandon and now lives in Windsor Park in the Southdale constituency with her family.