Humourist, traditional storyteller and knowledge keeper, Zahgausgai zhinkaazo, Mukwa Dodemim, is an Ojibwa/Anishinabeninni and a 3rd Degree member of the Three Fires Midewiwin Society from WFN. He has made it a life passion to study the “MIikaans” Teaching which is about the whole development of the human before, during and after life. His past work experience includes work as the Elder/Healer at the Mental Health Centre in Penetanguishene and Fenbrook Medium Institution near Gravenhurst, Ontario He has been a part time lecturer at Georgian College in Barrie. John travels internationally and is a well-respected teacher and Elder in the Anishinabe Nation.

Josephine is a member of the Wikwemikong Unceded Nation. With a copper pail of water in one hand and a staff in the other, Josephine Mandamin, an Anishabaabekwe grandmother and traditional knowledge keeper took on a sacred walk, traversing over 10,900 miles around each of the Great Lakes; she is known as the “Water Walker.” In Anishinaabekwe culture, women have the responsibility to take care for the water.  “The water of Mother Earth, she carries life to us, and as women we carry life through our bodies.” In the wake of extreme extractive industries such fracking, oil, and coal mining, access to clean water is rapidly declining.  “In our prophecies, in our Three Fires Midewiwin Society, we are taught that water is very precious. In February 2016, Josephine was awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation.

In a world where the sum of our lives is defined through another’s gaze, genuinely unchained artists like Winnipeg-bred Hamilton-based Iskwé (pronounced iss-kway) are a rare breed. Named one of the ‘Top 10 Artists to Watch’ by CBC Music, Iskwé’s (‘woman’ in Cree) unmistakable sound weaves her Irish and Cree/Dené/Métis roots with poignant politically charged lyrics, dark soulful R&B rhythms, electronic flourishes, and trip hop breakbeats. Her debut single “Nobody Knows” was featured in the Netflix series Between, captivated audiences by turning a stark spotlight on the more than 1200 missing and murdered Indigenous women here in Canada. Iskwé’s sophomore album ‘The Fight Within’ was just released.

Chad Solomon is a member of the Henvey Inlet, First Nation. As a child, he and his family would visit with his late grandparents in the French River Ontario area. His grandfather Art Solomon, a traditional healer and justice activist would spend his time building wooden toys and playing with Chad and his siblings. Even in winter Art would go tobogganing with them. Learning from his grandfather, that no matter how old you become, you should always be young-at-heart and that laughter is the greatest medicine. This is the spirit behind the comical Adventures of Rabbit and Bear Paws  series.

Waubgeshig Rice is an author and journalist originally from Wasauksing First Nation. He developed a strong passion for storytelling as a child while learning about being Anishinaabe. The stories his elders shared and his unique experiences growing up in his community inspired him to write creatively. Some of the stories he wrote as a teenager eventually became Midnight Sweatlodge, his first collection of fiction published by Theytus Books in 2011. His debut novel, Legacy, was also published by Theytus in the summer of 2014. His journalism career began when he was a 17-year-old exchange student in northern Germany, writing about being Anishinaabe in a European country for newspapers back in Canada. He graduated from Ryerson University’s journalism program in 2002, and has worked in a variety of media across Canada since. He started working for CBC in Winnipeg in 2006. Along with reporting the news, he has produced television and radio documentaries and features for the public broadcaster. He currently works as a video journalist for CBC News Ottawa. In 2014, he received the Anishinabek Nation’s Debwewin Citation for Excellence in First Nation Storytelling.

Esther is a storyteller and teacher of local history in Birch Island – Whitefish River First Nation (Manitoulin) where she lives. She visits schools and libraries sharing stories of the Ojibwa people that were passed down to her from her grandparents. These stories address the interconnectedness to all things through human relationships with the natural world, thunder beings, water and wind spirits.

Mskwaankwad is Anishinaabe from Waasaaksing. In recent years Mskwaankwad has sought to learn his traditional language of Anishinaabemowin in order to help revitalize and pass it on to future generations. He hosts a beginner Anishinaabemowin learning program on CHRZ Rez 91.3 FM and is involved in language revitalization efforts across Anishinaabe Akiing.

The Little Spirit Singers started about a decade ago when students at the Wasauksing Kinomaugewgamik school went to teacher Deina Bomberry saying they missed the singing they’d done while in her Grade 1 / 2 class. She and the girls started gathering at recess and eventually were invited to perform in public. It took off from there. The traditional singing group of elementary and high school-aged girls has performed around Ontario, for special events and conferences for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Union of Ontario Indians, and Town of Parry Sound Mayor’s New Year’s Levee. Last year the community celebrated the Little Spirit Singers and their Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Youth Achievement.