Advisory

My name is Wilbert Menacho, and I am Dene from Tulita, NWT.  I am a residential school survivor, and as such, I recognize that this experience took me away from my culture. The Dene are a strong and gifted people, with deep connections to the land. I love to work with youth and bring them to the land.  I strongly believe our youth can learn so much from the land. Our elders have always taught the importance of guiding youth on the land, and safety is always number one.  The land is healing, it speaks to you. Take a moment to sit, look around, and appreciate what surrounds you. Watch the rivers, honour our ancestors who paddled these waters, and notice the beauty and usefulness of the land. I am thankful to organizations that take youth out on the land to show them traditional ways of life. My message to youth: respect the places you travel, care for each other and your instructors, work hard, relax in the evenings, do your best, and most importantly, be safe on the land.

Sandlanee Gid Raven Ann Potschka is from the Gawa Git’ans, Massett Inlet Eagle Clan, Haida Gwaii. She’s a proud mom of twins and has spent over 25 years supporting youth, families, and communities through land-based learning and Indigenous wellness. Reconnecting with her Haida roots helped her heal from childhood and intergenerational trauma, and she now shares that journey to help others do the same. Guided by Elders and grounded in Yahguudang (respect), she weaves together culture, ceremony, and mental health work to create spaces for healing, belonging, and connection to the land.

Tansi, my name is Lindsay Yasinski, and I am Nêhiyaw (Cree), Red River Métis, and of Eastern European descent. I was born and raised in my ancestral territory in Peace River, Alberta, where I acknowledge the Cree, Dene, Beaver, and Métis peoples. I have maternal kinship ties to the Lubicon Lake First Nation and Woodland Cree First Nation, both located in Treaty 8 territory. I am a proud member of the Métis Nation of Alberta, and am directly descended from the Lambert, Lizotte, Flett and Bird families of the Red River Métis. I have worked in the Canadian education system for 12 years as a teacher, educational assistant and Indigenous Support Worker. I completed a Bachelor of Education from the University of Calgary, and a Master of Education in Indigenous Education from the University of Columbia. Currently, I am in my first year of a PhD in Educational Studies at UBC. I teach urban Indigenous youth and am passionate about creating an educational space where they can safely explore their identities. My research focuses on how urban Indigenous youth connect with their Indigenous identities within a school setting. The work of Indigenous education is woven into my heart and my being. As an educator and researcher, my goal is to improve the Canadian education system and break down barriers for Indigenous students. I carry the teachings of my Nêhiyaw and Métis ancestors with me, as a mother, educator, student, and leader, grounded in love, care, and the kinship responsibilities that shape how I move through the world. I approach this important work with authenticity, humility, and love for my colleagues, teachers, and students.

Liz Halina, a member of Sagkeeng First Nation, currently based in Gatineau, Quebec, has 15 years of classroom experience and an additional 10 years working directly with educators to enrich curricula with Indigenous perspectives. She is deeply committed to advancing Indigenous Land-Based Education and supporting teachers in creating inclusive, culturally responsive learning environments.

Zahra lives on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) territory (Vancouver, BC) and started at Nature United in 2018. She supports Indigenous communities across Canada in running strong and resilient on-the-land/water programs for Indigenous youth, who will be the future stewards of their communities, cultures and territories. This work involves facilitation support, developing tools and resources, and facilitating webinars to support networking between partners. Zahra is currently supporting the YOLO Community in a coordinating role and is excited about how the governance structure of the YOLO Community may evolve – she hopes to one day see this work led by an Indigenous institution and directed by a robust advisory group. Before working for Nature United, Zahra worked in Indigenous education with Vancouver Island University in Snuneymuxw territory (Nanaimo, BC) and in public health in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. She is a K-12 teacher by training and currently studying to become a Registered Clinical Counsellor.

Vern Brown is Kitasoo/Xai’xais and has been the Supporting Emerging Aboriginal Stewards (SEAS) Summer Internship Coordinator for the community since 2016. Vern’s top goals as Coordinator are to expose his interns to as much of their territory as possible, inspire curiosity and show them that they have opportunities once they finish school. “Youth in our community represent the future stewards of our territory,” Vern says. “It is our Nation’s vision to reconnect young people to the Earth and their culture. To teach them where they come from and who they can be.”

Vern also does lots of work with the Kitasoo/Xai’xais Resource Stewardship Department, including creek walking, forestry work, and other monitoring and science work. He has expertise in bear research, mapping, drones, and much more!

Steph Woodworth (they/them) is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics at the University of Ottawa, co-supervised by Dr. Sonia Wesche and Dr. Andrew Spring, and is the Project Director at Northern Youth Leadership. For their doctoral research, Steph explored on-the-land camps in the Northwest Territories, which educate and engage northern youth. Specifically, they used photovoice during on-the-land camps with northern youth to capture their experiences of land-based education and their concerns of, and priorities for, changes happening in their communities. As Project Director for Northern Youth Leadership, their vision is to empower and inspire a generation of courageous, young Northern leaders. Northern Youth Leadership programming has two main components (1) on-the-land camps for northern youth (ages 11-17) and (2) a leadership development program, an employment mentorship program for youth aged 14-25. In their PhD research and role as Project Director, Steph works to foster opportunities for youth to connect with the Land, build self-confidence, improve mental health and wellbeing, participate in safe spaces, and strengthen peer networks. Overall, Steph is deeply passionate about empowering and educating youth to be land-based leaders.

Heather Burke, BA, MA is Métis with ancestral ties to the former Red River Settlement, a historical Métis community. She has Indigenous and European ancestry on her father’s side and English and American ancestry on her mother’s side. Heather is a Learning Facilitator in the Office of Indigenous Education and Engagement at VIU in partnership with the EleV program. Heather works to centre and amplify Indigenous voice by sharing the promising practices and teachings we have received from Indigenous learners, communities, families, the VIU community, and other learning partners as a way to be accountable to these groups and honour the responsibility to be transparent and authentic in our work together.

As an education leader, curriculum designer and project manager Wren can be found on the land with young people and project partners, as well as in classrooms and boardrooms. Wren was raised between the Niagara Escarpment and the shores of Lake Ontario on the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ, Attiwonderonk, Mississauga, and Mississauga of the New Credit, and they have over 15 years experience working with children, youth, families and community partners on the land and behind the scenes in education design and delivery. Wren has always felt called to work outdoors with young people. Rivers to Ridges was born out of a desire to create space for young people to feel curious about and connected to the land around them. Wren uses their BEd and organizational leadership experiences to increase access to land-based learning for young people, and to decolonize educational systems through learning design. Wren feels most alive when working in relationship with youth as they develop their sense of self in connection to place/land; working with inspiring teams to create meaningful learning experiences; learning from local land stewards; supporting young people in taking risks; and celebrating bird language and song as a doorway to deeper awareness.