I am a fluent Dene Tha’ language speaker. My grandparents are from Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta. I believe we must hold onto our own cultural values through shared teachings.  My educational background comes from a lived experience and from establishing safe places for our families to promote healthy, cultural-focus, language-based teachings. I am a graduate from Grant MacEwan Community College which allowed the opportunity to have met many powerful Indigenous leaders and mentors.  I have learned that before we speak up on matters, first, we must learn to listen to let others speak and listen to be still and sit with our youth whom we trust will find their own voices and path in living today. Dene Tha’ language has its shared, knowing, and values that are living ways and voices enriched with my own kinship. Today, our shared knowledge of how our Elders’ voices echo into our hills today. 

I was born July 29, 1950, in Bonnyville, Alberta. My parents are Charles Minoose and Josette Estaltheni/Petit. My father’s parents are Elizabeth Telk’ulighu and J.B. Minoose. My mother’s parents are Anastasia Lagrosstête and Noel Estaltheni. My parents had 18 children. I grew up on Łuwechok Túwé Denesųłiné néné (Cold Lake First Nations), where I attended Cold Lake Indian Day School\LeGoff from 1957-1965. For Grade 9, I attended Racette Catholic School in St. Paul, Alberta, and boarded at Blue Quills Residential School 1965-1966. I attended St. Dominic’s Catholic School in Cold Lake, Alberta 1966-1969 to do Grade 10-12. I completed Grade 12 in 1970 at Alberta College in Edmonton, Alberta. I entered Grant MacEwan Community College in 1972 and attended until 1974. I took 1 semester in Secretarial Arts, 1 semester in General Arts and Sciences, and 1 year in Social Services Diploma program. In 1975, I entered the Morningstar Indian Teacher Education program, of which I completed 1 year in 1976. I took a leave from my studies and worked until 1989, when I went back to Blue Quills Indian College to complete the second year of the Teacher Education Program. I entered University of Alberta in 1990-1991 and graduated with a degree in Education. In 2014, I enrolled in a Master of Arts in Indigenous Languages at the University nuhelot’ine thaʔe hots’į nistameyimakanak Blue Quills. I received my M.A. degree in 2016.

Elder Elmer Ghostkeeper was born to parents Adolphus and Elsie Ghostkeeper at the Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement, Alberta. He is Metis and speaks fluent Bushland Cree and MIchif the language of Metis people and lives with the land. He is a Spiritualist, father, grandfather, teacher, student, learner, philosopher and entrepreneur. His work is “Weche Teachings”, a partnership of Aboriginal Wisdom and Western Scientific Knowledge, a methodology to understand and solve puzzles effecting Aboriginal People. Elmer has a BA in Anthropology a MA in Cultural Anthropology and a Civil Technology Diploma. He is the author of Spirit Gifting: The Concept of Spiritual Exchange which is his Master’s thesis. In 2004, Elmer received the Order of the Metis Nation. He serves on numerous committees to revitalize the four aspects of Indigenous culture, social, economic and politics.

Mary Cardinal Collins is a semi-retired teacher from Treaty 6 Saddle Lake First Nation, AB, fluent Cree speaker and translator – Nehiyaw -skwew -who works in the field of Indigenous languages and Indigenous education for the past 30 plus years. Mary is a 12 year survivor of the Blue Quills Indian Residential school and although she remained a fluent speaker she has had to reclaim her kinship systems and ceremonial activities post the residential school experience. She has experience in Cree language curriculum development at the provincial level and at the national level with the Western and Northern Canadian Protocol. Mary was involved at several levels of leadership during the development, writing and publishing of Aboriginal studies in Alberta education. She has led many workshops on Cree language methodology and classroom activities as Supervisor of Aboriginal Programs with Northland School Division. Lately, she completed a contract with the Southern Tutchone First Nations languages in Haines Junction, Yukon using the Alberta Aboriginal language template. Because of her experience in Indigenous languages curriculum she also has a special interest in Infusion of Indigenous culture in the everyday core curriculum.

Born and raised near Rocky mountain House, Alberta, on Sunchild First Nation, 280kms southwest of Edmonton, Alberta. As a child grew up learning two languages, Cree and Annisnabe. Ancestors, great- grandparents, who were medicine men and women, and held ceremonial lodges and taught me an abundance of traditional knowledge and protocols and they originate from a sacred place called ‘Manitou Lake’, near Marsden, Saskatchewan. I also have family ties to North Battleford, Saskatchewan region. As a young mother in 1984, I decided to return to school to acquire a GED, which I completed in one year. I began my University journey in 1990. From there, in 1992 I graduated with a Health Development Administration University certificate which included management classes and professional development classes. I decided to go and work for my community and as the Health Director. In 2002, went back to University and graduated with a B.A, through Athabasca University, went back to work. In 2013 I decided to pursue  a Masters Degree in Indigenous Languages and graduated in 2016. The journey of my Masters included a ‘Tour Study’ in New Zealand of the Maori people and their reclamation to Revitalizing their Indigenous languages. During my tour of New Zealand I had the opportunity to visit eight schools to see first-hand their work with Language Revitalization. Today you can find me as a sessional language Instructor at the Yellowhead Tribal College in Edmonton. My goal is to help First Nations revitalize the diminishing Indigenous languages in a good way.

Edna Elias was called by her grandmother, “Hatuliarmiutaq” “person from thin ice” cause she was born on a fish lake in the fall. Thus the reason why she loves ice fishing in the spring. A teacher by profession Edna is an Inuit language and culture advocate. She lives and breathes her culture in an urban setting; showcasing it where and when she can at Edmonton events. She shares her cultural knowledge through presentations at educational institutions in and around the city. Advocating for maintenance and revitalization of Inuinnaqtun, the dialect of the Copper Inuit of western Kitikmeot in Nunavut is her passion which has become harder to do from a distance. An experience at residential school and one upon return from residential school, made her realize the importance of maintaining one’s language and made her determined relearning what she was losing. One of her works has included rewriting of the Anglican Inuinnaqtun prayer and hymn book from the old non-standard writing system to that of the newer Canadian Inuktun standardized system to produce a digital version. The goal of the team now is to see the document printed and made available to Inuinnaqtun speakers.

Lyndon is from Alexis Stoney Nation. Lyndon has worked in many different capacities ranging from Corrections Canada, Ministry of Environment, Council member for his Nation and casino president. Lyndon enjoys traveling, hunting, gathering pharmaceutical plants, and attending spiritual ceremonies. Lyndon also presents and engages on Indigenous culture and history to many institutions, governments, and industry. Lyndon’s goal has been to assist in the revitalization, recovery and maintenance of Indigenous languages.