Betty Biesenthal January 25, 2022 0

2022 ICCE Conference Speakers

Dr. Paivi Abernethy (PhD)

Research Fellow, Centre for Global Studies, University of Victoria and Member of the ICCE Technical Advisory Committee

Dr. Paivi Abernethy is a Senior Scientist with the Natural Resources Institute Finland, Research Fellow at the University of Victoria, and Adjunct Professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo and in the School of Public Health and Social Policy at the University of Victoria. She is currently also a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of ICCE and was, until recently, a Climate Change & Health Specialist with the First Nations Health Authority. Paivi has been working in sustainable healthy community development with Indigenous and rural communities since 2005, focusing on social, ecological and Indigenous determinants of health and community capacity building. Her work centers on impacts of various environmental factors on community and ecosystem health, ranging from climate change, pollution, and natural resource governance (particularly water) to cultural and socioeconomic influences on health.

O’Hara Adams

Lands and Resources Department, Eagle Lake First Nation

O’Hara has been with the Eagle Lake Lands and Resources Department for just over three years. She has a business administration diploma and works as the Lands and Resources Assistant. O’Hara has worked as a GIS Research technician on the English and Wabigoon Rivers Remediation Panel project, where she conducted interviews with our community members and completed mapping. She has also worked on a porewater sampling project to assess mercury contamination in the Wabigoon River system. She loves working with her community and thinks it is important for our future generations to protect the lands and waters.

Adi Isaac Adiele

P.Geo, M.EB., Manager, Environment & Land Use Sustainability, Fort McKay Métis Nation

Adi Isaac Adiele is the Manager, Environment & Land Use Sustainability for the Fort McKay Métis Nation. Adi is a Registered Professional Geologist with over 12 years of progressive experience, executing projects in various sectors such as consulting, governments (federal, provincial & municipal), oil & gas, mining, and Aboriginal Communities.

His work experience cuts across the key areas such as physical and contaminant hydrogeology, geo-technical instrumentation design and monitoring, environmental regulatory applications, environmental site assessment and EIAs, geophysical interpretation of underground conditions, stakeholder engagement, design and implementation of community based environmental monitoring programs, and project coordination and management.

Adi holds a master’s degree in Environment and Business with focus in sustainable development from the University of Waterloo and bachelor’s degrees in Geology and Applied Petroleum Engineering Technology. He is a professional member of the Association of professional Engineers and Geoscientist of Alberta and of the National Groundwater Association and he is a National Construction Safety Officer with the Alberta Construction Safety Association.

Tamara Archie

Coordinator, Communications, Community Engagement, Education and Outreach, Qwelminte Secwépemc

Tamara Archie is from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation (SXFN) within Secwépemc Nation. Raised in community, Tamara developed land knowledge and cultural practices from parents, family, and elders. She is passionate about learning Secwepemctsin and continuing to practice and promote Secwepemc Culture. Tamara is the Communications, Community Engagement, Education & Outreach (CCEEO) Coordinator for the Qwelmínte Secwépemc (QS) a secretariate to seven Secwépemc signatory communities that are in government-to-government negotiations with the province of BC. The QS CCEEO team oversee and develop the #TeamSku7pecen Model geared to building the next generation of Indigenous leaders based on the concept of Walking on Two Legs, which refers to utilizing both western and Indigenous ways of knowing and being.

Herbie Barnes

Conference Emcee, Artistic Director, Young People’s Theatre (YPT)

An Anishinaabe theatre artist from Aundeck Omni Kaning First Nation on Manitoulin Island, Herbie Barnes was raised in Toronto. His theatre career began in 1989 with Debajehmujig Theatre Group, touring Ontario with the first run of Drew Hayden Taylor’s Toronto at Dreamer’s Rock. Since then he has collaborated with some of North America’s largest theatre companies and was nominated for a John Hirsch Director’s Award. His new play, Bent Boy, was workshopped at YPT and shortlisted for the Sharon Enkin Plays for Young People Award in 2020.  Herbie is the first Indigenous artistic director of Canada’s largest and oldest youth theatre company. He has a long and storied association with YPT, where as a young audience member, he had his first theatre experience. “My first taste of what would be a life-long passion for theatre started in the old streetcar barn on Front Street,” said Herbie of YPT’s 123-year-old heritage theatre. Years later, he began his professional association with YPT when he appeared in The Secret of Shhh in 1993. He has been making an impact at YPT ever since, both on stage and in classrooms as a playwright, performer, director and artist educator.

Paul-Antoine Cardin

Technical and Policy Advisor, ICCE

Paul-Antoine is a PhD candidate at Laval University in Quebec City. He began his doctoral studies in geographical sciences in 2014 after completing a master’s degree in environmental biogeoscience studies in 2013. Since 2016, he teaches an introductory class on human geography.

His research is done within a partnership that brings together Laval University and the Mashteuiatsh community situated in the Lac-Saint-Jean region in Québec. The work revolves around the benefits and relevancy of anchoring our understanding of cumulative effects within experiential knowledges of indigenous communities. By an engaged and collaborative approach, his work promotes the mobilization of indigenous knowledges to improve the cumulative effects assessment processes. Its research contextualizes cumulative effects into historical geography, and territorial encroachment and entanglement.

Paul-Antoine is the Technical and Policy Advisor of the Indigenous Centre for Cumulative Effects (ICCE) since July 2020.

Jayce Chiblow

Jayce Chiblow (she/her) is Anishinaabe from Garden River First Nation, Ontario. She has an Undergraduate degree in Biology and a Master of Environmental Studies where she focused on climate action through an Indigenous food sovereignty approach. Lately, Jayce has been working with Indigenous Climate Action (ICA) as the Toolkit Training Lead where she facilitates ICA’s Climate Leadership Program.

Mark Cliffe-Phillips

Executive Director, Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board

Mark is the Executive Director of the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board, which is an independent co-management tribunal responsible for the environmental impact assessment process in the Mackenzie Valley of the NWT. Prior to joining the Review Board, he was the Executive Director of the Wek’èezhìı Land and Water Board, which was responsible for the licensing and permitting of Canada’s largest diamond mines. Mark has been working in the resource co-management sector in the Northwest Territories since 2003, when he first joined the staff of the Sahtu Land and Water Board. He is currently a Board member of the Indigenous Centre for Cumulative Effects and frequently participates in various environmental assessment improvement initiatives across the North and the rest of Canada.

Alexandre D.Dubé

Alexandre, Anishinabe and Atikamekw from the community of Kitigan Zibi, is a graduate student in Geographic Sciences at Université Laval. His studies have led him to analyze the sub-state geopolitical issues of water resource governance in an Indigenous context in Quebec and Ontario. Passionate about hunting, fishing, and trapping since his teenage years, he is particularly interested in the issues of self-determination of Indigenous communities and the territorial governance of sensitive resources in terms of intergenerational transmissions and the continuity of cultural practices on the territory.

Thomas Dyck (PhD)

Applied Social Scientist, Integral Ecology Group

Thomas Dyck is an Applied Social Scientist and Human Geographer with the Integral Ecology Group. He is a facilitator guiding collaborative, community-led approaches that influence resource management and policy development and contribute to sustainable communities. Thomas has 13 years of experience working in the field of environmental resource management (Indigenous best practice guides, Indigenous land use and occupancy studies, rights impact assessments, cultural impact assessments, Indigenous knowledge studies, and First Nation source water protection planning) and completed his Ph.D. in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2017.

Thomas works almost exclusively in partnerships with Indigenous communities supporting research related to Indigenous knowledge, all types of land use (e.g., subsistence, transportation, culture/spiritual, and habitation), and impact assessment. Through this work he has extensive experience facilitating and engaging Indigenous communities with culturally appropriate methodologies (e.g., mapping interviews, on the land trips, focus groups). His work has been used by communities to negotiate agreements, as evidence in legal hearing contexts, and to support initiatives to protect and maintain Indigenous culture. Thomas has been an expert witness on Indigenous land use rights in the Alberta regulatory hearing context. Thomas has worked throughout Canada including with remote Indigenous communities such as Fort McKay Métis Nation, Fort McKay First Nation and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.

Nicholas Flowers

Nicholas Flowers is a 19-year-old Inuk from Hopedale, Nunatsiavut, Labrador. He graduated from Amos Comenius Memorial School in 2020 and studied one year at Memorial University’s Grenfell Campus. In the fall of 2021, Nicholas decided to move back to Hopedale and start a new job with the Nunatsiavut Government. He is currently working as the temporary Language Program Community Worker – a position that promotes the use of Inuttitut in everyday life through posts on social media and the development of community events. Nicholas’ passion is to learn and revitalize the Inuttut language of Inuit in Labrador and to become a fluent speaker. With this desire, he was recently accepted for the Aurniarvik program – a certificate from the University of Victoria that teaches the Inuttut language and is based from the Pirurvik Centre in Iqaluit, Nunavut. This program will take place from August 2022 to April 2023.

Alison Fraser

Environmental Scientist and Human Health Risk Assessor, EnCompass Environmental Limited

Alison is an environmental scientist and human health risk assessor with more than 20 years of experience in environmental consulting. She has worked with regulators, consultants, proponents and Indigenous communities on environmental site assessments, impact assessments, human health risk assessments and environmental management planning projects. Alison has a Bachelor of Environmental Science Degree from the University of Guelph and a Master of Science Degree (Environmental Science) from Trent University. She is a Qualified Person for Risk Assessment in Ontario (QPRA). She is also an active member of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, IndigeSTEAM, and the Cambridge Environmental Advisory Committee.

Angeline Gillis

Vice Chair, ICCE and Associate Executive Director, The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq

Angeline Gillis is a proud Mi’kmaw woman and member of Eskasoni First Nation. Growing up outside her community in East Bay Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Angie grew up surrounded by her family and her culture. She remains grateful as her unique upbringing gave her the strength and ingenuity to pursue her education. She is an alumni of Dalhousie University, and obtained her LL.B from Schulich School of Law and was called to the Nova Scotia Bar Society in June 2010.

Angeline is a practicing lawyer and has worked with The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM) since October 2011. In 2013, she became the Director of Environment and Natural Resources after successfully establishing several environmental programs for CMM’s Member Communities.

In 2019, Angeline was appointed by The CMM Board to be the organization’s Associate Executive Director. Making her to be the first woman to hold this position in the organization’s history, and in the largest tribal council in the east. Within this role, she provides oversight and guidance to all CMM’s departments, over a hundred staff, numerous files, projects, and services offered to eight (8) Mi’kmaw communities in Mainland Nova Scotia.

Angeline’s career has been primarily focused on the inclusion of traditional knowledge and modern science. She is passionate and unrelenting in creating real, measurable progress in the priorities that matter most to her organization’s communities.

Angeline sits as an advisor for the Assembly of Nova Scotia Chiefs’, Dalhousie’s Board of Governors, Dalhousie’s Faculty of Management External Advisory Board, the Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response Network (MEOPAR) Board of Directors, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster Board of Directors, Natural Resource Canada’s Departmental Audit Committee, and the Indigenous Centre of Cumulative Effects Management Board of Directors.

We‘es Tes, Sandra A. Martin Harris

Communications Director, Office of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs, Member of the Witset First Nation, PhD Researcher, University of Northern British Columbia

I am from the Wet’suwet’en Nation of the Laksilyu, Little Frog Clan and a member of the Witset First Nation. I live in Tse Kya on the Gitxsan laxyip, in the Hazeltons’. I am the Communications Director for the Office of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs, working primarily with the 5 Clans, media and interested parties across the yintah. I have spent 20 plus years working as a community developer, working to have integrated approaches for health and wellbeing, supporting good governance practices, and advocating for suitable housing. I was the community developer/social development advisor at the Gitksan Government Commission (tribal council) for 10 years. I love community development work, community and watershed planning.

I previously spent a decade working with the Office of the Wet’suwet’en in land use planning, managing culturally grounded social programs and was a part of the senior management team for treaty negotiations. I am also an Indigenous Focusing Complex Trauma (IFOT) practitioner. I share indigenous teachings about complex trauma to front line staff using a body centered and land-based way; facilitating a finding our balance and strengths-based ways of Being. I am also a master level Reiki helper. I am a mother and grandmother, am learning more of my Wet’suwet’en language each day and grateful for the many persons that helped me on my life journey. I am currently a PhD student at UNBC in natural resources and environmental sciences.

Leona Irons

Chair, ICCE and Executive Director, National Aboriginal Lands Managers Association

Leona is Anishinaabe and a member of the Curve Lake First Nation, Ontario. She is the Executive Director for the National Lands Managers Association (NALMA).

Over 40 years working and advocating for the land management profession across Canada, Leona has devoted her career in teaching and raising professional standards in First Nation lands management.

20 years working directly in land management for First Nations and Government inspired her to take the path of advancing professional capacity in lands management. Guided by her fellow land management colleagues across Canada, Leona advocated and sought through the establishment of NALMA and Regional Lands Associations mandated to empower land management professionals with training, technical support and networking opportunities.

Leona was also instrumental in establishing the Centre of Excellence for Matrimonial Real Property (COEMRP) and the Indigenous Centre for Cumulative Effects (ICCE).

Expanding her knowledge and support services, Leona accepted an appointment by the Minister of Natural Resources as Lay council member for the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors (ACLS). Leona has been serving on council since 2017.

Leona has received several recognition awards for her achievements. In 2019 she was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Anishnabek Nation, as a celebration of her achievement and success in lands management.

Leona and her husband, Owen Cummings have raised two children who have given them two precious granddaughters.

Leea Litzgus

Executive Director, ICCE

Ms. Litzgus is Algonquin from Ontario. She is leading the Indigenous Centre for Cumulative Effects (ICCE) in their mandate to help build and enhance the technical and scientific capacity of Indigenous communities for cumulative effects assessment, monitoring and management based on values of First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities. She has a keen interest in sustainable community development to ensure a healthy environment for generations to come.

Ms. Litzgus held the position of Associate Regional Director General for the Ontario Region of Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) from 2011-2020. She was responsible for guiding the region to focus on an Indigenous community-centered approach to support 133 First Nations in Ontario.

Ms. Litzgus played a key role in developing positive relationships between First Nations and all levels of government to encourage strong, self-sufficient First Nation communities.

Prior to working with the federal public service, Ms. Litzgus worked as an environmental consultant in the private sector, where she carried out Environmental and Social Impact Studies of large-scale infrastructure and remediation projects.

Ms. Litzgus has a master’s degree in Urban and Rural Planning from Dalhousie University, as well as a Bachelor of Science from Brock University, specializing in biology and environmental science, and holds a Certificate in Public Sector Leadership and Governance from the University of Ottawa.

Kate Mansfield

Senior Policy Advisor, Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board

Kate is originally from Ontario but has lived and worked in the Northwest Territories for almost ten years. She’s worked in industrial settings doing environmental monitoring and research program design and has spent the last 7 years with the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board conducting environmental assessments and working on several policy initiatives.

Kate studied hydrology and peace and conflict studies at McMaster University and integrative biology, with a focus on peatland carbon cycling in permafrost environments at the University of Guelph.

She is a Proud mom to kids and dogs, an avid hiker, a slow jogger, and a yoga enthusiast. Kate has spent most of the pandemic perfecting her chocolate chip cookie recipe and is willing to share with whoever wants it (since the world can always use more cookies)!

Dr. Klemetti Näkkäläjärvi (PhD)

Saami Researcher from Enontekiö, North Finland, Postdoctoral Researcher, Cultural Anthropology

Dr. Näkkäläjärvi is a Saami researcher from Enontekiö, North Finland. He is a member of a reindeer Saami family. His research and professional interests are focused on Saami culture, language and livelihoods, environment, biodiversity, arctic area, climate change and protection of traditional knowledge. During his professional history he has looked into Saami culture from various different aspects: as a Saami, as a politician, as a linguist, as a cultural anthropologist, as an administrator and as an association actor. This knowledge and understanding of the role of Indigenous cultures in society, politics, and international law and in changing climate is unique.

He has been working for seven years as the President of Finnish Saami parliament, which is the highest political organ of the Saami people in Finland. During his post, he has focused on matters concerning environmental protection, biodiversity, arctic cooperation, climate change and protection of traditional knowledge of the Saami. He has used the latest scientific information on his work and adapted the scientific information to his professional work, to public presentations and statements.

Margot Parkes

Professor, School of Health Sciences, University of Northern British Columbia

Born in Aoteaora/New Zealand, I have been fortunate to live, learn, live and work across Oceania, Europe and the Americas. In 2009, I came to UNBC as Canada Research Chair in Health, Ecosystems and Society and since then, I have mostly lived on unceded Lheidli T’enneh territory, in northern BC. I serve as professor in the UNBC School of Health Sciences, cross-appointed in the Northern Medical Program, alongside ongoing journeys as a daughter, sister, partner, friend, and relation. I prioritise working and learning with others – across regions, cultural contexts, disciplines and sectors – to foster better understanding of land, water and living systems (ecosystems) as foundational for health, equity and well-being; and to strengthen collaborations that reflect these connections.

My research focuses on integrative, partnered and Indigenous-informed approaches, especially those that connect social and ecological influences on health within watersheds, and in rural, remote and Indigenous communities. My work draws on my background in clinical medicine, public health, human ecology, ecohealth, and life-experience: seeking to understand and challenge the harmful, colonizing, degenerative, and unjust patterns of cumulative impacts on environments, communities and health, while also prioritizing actions and approaches that amplify co-benefits for people, place, and planet. Key collaborations relevant to ICCE themes, include my work as co-lead of the Environment, Community, Health Observatory (ECHO) Network, focused on the cumulative health, equity and ecological challenges of resource extraction and climate change; and as a member of the Global Working Group on Waiora Planetary Health for the International Union of Health Promotion and Education.

Miles Pitchenese

Lands and Resources Department,
Eagle Lake First Nation

Miles is a community member of Migisi Sahgaigan (Eagle Lake) First Nation and has been working with the community in their Lands and Resources Department as the Contaminant’s Coordinator for the past 3 years. He has been working closely with the Traditional Knowledge Holders of the community to understand the effects of contamination in fish, water, sediment, and soil. Miles has implemented several community-led programs, including organizing and facilitating community meetings, as well as sharing technical information with community members and Leadership. Prior to joining the Lands and Resources Department, Miles worked for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF).

Mark Podlasly

Nlaka’pamux Nation, Cook’s Ferry Band, Director of Economic Policy and Initiatives, First Nations Major Projects Coalition

Mark Podlasly, a member of the Nlaka’pamux Nation, provides strategic advice on Indigenous–corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment issues. He has over 25 years of extensive experience in the development of capital projects connected to energy, natural resources, and community infrastructure around the world. He is the Director of Economic Policy and Initiatives at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, a national 75+ Indigenous nation collective that seeks ownership of major projects such as pipelines, electric utilities, and mining support infrastructure, and an Adjunct Professor at UBC’s Sauder School of Business. Mark holds a master’s degree from Harvard University and is a regular speaker at global business and governance events.

Levi Snook

Environmental Consultant, EnCompass Environmental Limited

Levi has over 11 years of environmental consulting experience specializing in the fields of aquatic ecology, environmental science, and ecosystem management. He has worked alongside communities, regulators, and proponents on a range of environmental assessment and monitoring activities. Levi is experienced in environmental study design, managing complex field programs, and providing training and skills development to client communities. Levi holds a Bachelor or Science Degree (Environmental and Natural Resources Sciences) from Trent University, as well as a Diploma in Ecosystem Management Technology and Ecosystem Management Technician from Flemming College.

Kate Wale

Intern Program Coordinator, Communications, Community Engagement, Education and Outreach, Qwelminte Secwépemc

Kate Wale is a Gitxsan woman from Gitanmaax First Nation on her father’s side and settler-European on her mother’s side. She has been a humbled guest on Secwepemculecw for most of her life, currently residing within Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc territory in Kamloops, BC. After participating in the #TeamSku7pecen Internship Program in the Summer of 2020, Kate stayed on with Qwelmínte Secwépemc (QS) to continue working and learning with their incredible team and seven signatory communities.

Kate completed her Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Communication and a Minor in Marketing at Thompson Rivers University in October 2020. At Qwelmínte Secwépemc, Kate now works on the Communications, Community Engagement, Education, and Outreach, or CCEEO team, as the Intern Program Coordinator. She continues working on various community engagement projects and coordinating and supporting the #TeamSku7pecen Intern Program. Being a part of #TeamSku7pecen has given Kate invaluable and irreplaceable experience, connections, and knowledge, which has allowed her to fully realize her desire to help build capacity within Indigenous communities and organizations, working with and for First Nations in the future.