A Denesuline and member of the Smith’s Landing Treaty 8 First Nation François Paulette survived the residential school system before going on the become the youngest Chief in the NWT Indian Brotherhood in 1971.  In 1972, along with sixteen other chiefs from the Mackenzie Valley, he challenged the Crown to recognize treaty rights and aboriginal title to over 450, 000 square miles of land in the historic Paulette case.  He remains a passionate and outspoken advocate of treaty and Indigenous rights in all matters affecting his people, and is recognized in the courts as an expert witness on historic treaties.

As Chief Negotiator for the Smith’s Landing First Nation, François worked diligently to conclude a Treaty Land Entitlement Agreement, which has proven to be of critical importance in protecting the Slave River from hydro-electric development.

François takes pride in maintaining his Dene language and the traditional knowledge that derives from his close relationship with the land.  He was one of the founding members of the Dene Cultural Institute, and continues to serve as an interpreter of traditional knowledge and a facilitator of cross-cultural understanding.  As a collaborator on a number of Canadian and international documentary films, he has helped to increase public understanding of the Dene way of life (Dene Ch’anie), and has participated in ecumenical forums, including the Parliament of the World’s Religions, to promote an understanding of the spiritual world of the Dene.

François remains active in efforts to protect the natural environment of Denendeh.  He has contributed to numerous water conferences in the north and has been a collaborator on several documentary films focusing on the impact of the tar sands development on the environment and people of northern Canada.  Over a period of nine years, he participated in annual meetings of the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) on Climate Change in various locations around the globe and contributed to the Indigenous Peoples’ Traditional Knowledge articles of the Paris Agreement.  As a past member of the Assembly of First Nations Elders Council, François was instrumental in the development of traditional knowledge protocols and policy for the Canadian Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment.

François has extensive experience as a guest lecturer at institutions such as Aurora College, Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning and the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto.  He is currently an Adjunct Professor at the School of Public Health, University of Alberta.  He is an Elder Advisor to the Institute of Circumpolar Health Research (ICHR) and to the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation.

He has recently been named an Officer of the Order of Canada.  Ultimately, however, his well-being and strength continue to derive from his relationships with family and the ancestral lands of the Denesuline.

Rassi Nashalik is an Inuit Elder committed to the promotion and preservation of Inuit Qaujimajatuqanfit (traditional knowledge). She was a highly respected media personality who had a long association with CBC North, travelling extensively across the North, speaking with northern peoples and understanding their concerns. She has produced award-winning programs celebrating northern achievements, as well as highlighting problems such as youth suicide.  Early in her career, she served on the frontline of health care as a community health representative in Pangnirtung, Nunavut.

For more than two decades, John has worked to preserve, revive and celebrate the culture and language of the Tłįchǫ people, particularly through land-based programs. He is experienced in the area of land claims and self-government negotiation and implementation work in community service and with government agencies in the Tłįchǫ region.

John is committed to advancing education opportunities in the north and supporting research that is grounded in Tłįchǫ cosmology. In his role with the Tłįchǫ Research and Training Institute and senior advisor to the Tłįchǫ Ndek’àowo (Tłįchǫ government), he advises and collaborates at the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research.  His work includes participating in research projects as a co-investigator and traditional knowledge holder; co-supervising graduate students applying traditional knowledge methods in their research; and, lecturing as invited.

Candice Lys, BA, MA, PhD has been Executive Director of FOXY (Fostering Open eXpression
among Youth) since 2012. She grew up in Fort Smith in a very large Métis family, and went on to
study sociology, health promotion, and public health. She has worked as a research associate at ICHR. In 2017 she was selected as an Ashoka Canada Fellow, an award given to leading social entrepreneurs who help create positive change across all sectors of Canadian society and a University of Alberta Alumni Innovation Award.

Denise McDonald, BEd, MEd held leadership roles in education, health and research in the Northwest Territories. This included roles as Superintendent of Education for the Beaufort Delta Education Council, Regional Wellness Director for the Gwich’in Tribal Council, and Director of Research Development for the Institute of Circumpolar Health Research. As an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta, Denise supports connections to community-based research in Inuvik and provides mentorship and support to students. Her focus is on applying traditional knowledge,
community-based research, and knowledge translation through Indigenous governments and northern communities.

Susan Chatwood, BScN, MSc, PhD has devoted much of her professional life working in Indigenous communities in the NT and Nunavik as a nurse, researcher, and consultant. She was founding Director of ICHR in 2005. She was awarded the Fulbright Arctic Initiative Scholar in 2015. In 2009 she was appointed assistant professor of public health at the University of Toronto, the first northern-based faculty appointment. In 2017 she was recruited to the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health as associate professor, where she was also named McCalla Professor tasked with developing northern-based curriculum in the School. Her major research focus is on health systems research frameworks that address inequities and include related systems that drive determinants of health in the Arctic, including climate change, Indigenous values, and geographical challenges. IN 2019, Susan was appointed to the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) as a council member.

Dr. Sophie Roher (she/her) is a health policy researcher who specializes in policies impacting Indigenous and Arctic communities. She is SPOR-funded Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto, and a Senior Research Advisor at the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research. Dr. Roher believes in the power of relationships and storytelling. Her work uses participatory approaches and narrative methods to foster dialogue and co-learning between community and health system stakeholders with the goal of addressing inequities in care and driving patient-centred health policies and programs. She is passionate about advancing Indigenous health outcomes and has worked for over nine years on a wide-range of community-led research projects with Indigenous communities and governments in the Arctic. Dr. Roher earned her MSc in Health Policy and Bioethics and her PhD in Social and Behavioural Health Research at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She has experience working on policy initiatives in Ontario, Yellowknife, Whitehorse, and Uganda.

Carmen Logie, PhD holds the Canadian Research Chair in Global Health Equity and Social Justice
with Marginalized Populations at the University of Toronto. Her research program advances
understanding of and develops interventions to address, stigma and other social-ecological factors associated with HIV and STI prevention and care. She has been awarded funding from CIHR, SSHRC, Grand Challenges Canada, Canada Research Chairs, and Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to lead global research focused on sexual health and rights.

Anita Daniels-Black was born in Behchokǫ̀, NT. In 1999, she began a 15-year career at the Tłı̨ chǫ
Community Services Agency where she served in a variety of positions from Board Coordinator to the Manager of Wellness and Social Programs. She was one of the early members of the CART
(Community Action Research Team), a peer-to-peer action research strategy for educating and
involving young people to improve their health and wellness often related to sexual health, addictions, family violence and most recently, diet and nutrition issues. In 2012, Anita transferred to the Tłı̨chǫ Government as the Director of Social Programs and recently as the Senior Research Advisor. In her role with the NT NEIHR, Anita will provide expertise in community-based research methods, youth engagement, and knowledge translation.