CHANTELLE A.M. RICHMOND is an Anishinabe scholar from Pic River First Nation. She holds a CIHR New Investigator in Aboriginal Health and she is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, with a cross appointment in the First Nation Studies Program at Western University (London, Canada). Chantelle’s research is framed by community-based approaches that aim to understand how processes of environmental dispossession, both historic and contemporary, work to affect social determinants of health among Indigenous peoples. She collaborates with various First Nation communities and Aboriginal organizations to study these important issues. Chantelle has published widely in the health and social sciences and she routinely provides reviews for a number of Canadian and international journals and Canada’s Tri-council granting agencies. Chantelle is Director of the Indigenous Health Lab (www.indigenoushealthlab.ca) at Western University, where she supervises a number of postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students, all of whom are working on critical environment/health issues in the First Nation context. Chantelle is enthusiastic about the role that knowledge translation plays in her research. She views her role as a teacher, mentor and advocate as critical for increasing capacity and overall well-being in the communities she works with.
JAMES M. FORTIER is an enrolled member of the Pic River Ojibway First Nation, located in Ontario, Canada. James is an accomplished documentary filmmaker and website producer. Born in Nipigon, Ontario, raised in Chicago area James moved to the San Francisco area to complete his college education in 1983. For over 25 years he has written, produced, directed and filmed numerous productions for Fortune 500 Companies, broadcast and cable television, PBS and the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network in Canada. Since 1995, his documentary work has focused primarily on Native American and First Nation communities and issues. He has won numerous awards including 3 Emmy Awards and most recently the DuPont Columbia Award for his contribution as episode producer and director for Bad Sugar, part of the national PBS health series Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? James recently produced and directed Paths of Renewal for the Oweesta First Nations Corporation, a Native American non-profit based in Rapid City, SD.
James’ first documentary, Alcatraz Is Not An Island screened at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in 2001 and aired nationally on PBS and APTN in Canada. Other documentary works include the six hour PBS Ojibwe series Waasa Inaabidaa: We Look In All Directions, Voices for the Land, Indian Country Diaries: Spiral of Fire, Playing Pastime: American Indians, Softball, and Survival, Green Green Water, and two documentaries for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, Pulling Together, and Gathering Together. James is currently developing several documentary projects and working on a screenplay adaptation of Alcatraz Is Not An Island.
JASON CHAPMAN owns and operates Boreal Forest Music Productions, a media production company and Production Voices, a leading manufacturer of sound/sample libraries used by musicians around the world. He produces and mentors independent artists, many of whom, with his assistance, have won international songwriting competitions and have received commercial radio play. Also a composer, Jason’s work has been broadcast in television commercials, radio commercials and film. His recent recording endeavours have included live choir and orchestral concerts.
Jason is a professor in the Music Industry Arts program at Fanshawe College where he teaches a wide range of music technology, music business and songwriting courses. He also lectures on media technology and culture at the University of Western Ontario. He is the author of textbook Music Production In A Digital Environment.
Jason lives in London, Ontario, Canada with his wife and two daughters.
Wabanakwut (Wab) Kinew is a Canadian musician, broadcaster and educator, best known as a host of programming on CBC Radio and CBC Television.
Originally from the Onigaming First Nation in Northwestern Ontario, he is the son of the late Tobasonakwut Kinew, a former local and regional chief and a professor of indigenous governance at the University of Winnipeg who died in 2012.
Kinew has been a reporter and host predominantly for the CBC’s radio and television operations in Winnipeg, including the weekly arts magazine show The 204, but also hosted the national documentary series 8th Fire in 2012. He released his debut CD as a rapper, Live by the Drum, in 2009. The CD won an Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award for Best Rap/Hip-Hop CD.
In 2012, the University of Winnipeg named Kinew its first director of indigenous inclusion.
Jason Hunter is a member of the Weenusk First Nation and is a graduate of both the Film Production and Broadcasting Television Production Program at Confederation College. For over seven years he has worked on several productions in Canada, Los Angeles, and recently, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. He is a freelance photographer and currently resides in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
My name is Henry Beardy, I am a Oji-Cree from Sachigo Lake First Nation Ont. I moved out to Thunder Bay to pursue an education. I am a Film production and Broadcasting – Television production graduate. I first got into editing videos, than later picked up a passion for Camera Operating and Photography as I continued my education. I also enjoy the whole process of film making from start to finish. While in college I have produced a number of short films, documentaries and music videos with full crews. Outside of college life, I have also worked on projects with local and out of town filmmakers. As I continue into the media field I want to produce outdoor adventure videos and take part in documentary projects with other filmmakers.
Jonah Mamakeesic is a freelance composer/sound-designer who specializes in electronic and ethnic sound.
Born to musical and visual artists in Thunder Bay ON, Jonah developed musical talents playing piano, guitar, and percussion from an early age. With a strong interest in computers, he later explored the digital side of music, teaching himself the basics of sequencing and arranging, and began producing electronic music in 2005.
After graduating from recording arts and audio production programs in London ON, Jonah moved to Victoria BC to start his audio production company, Dancing Shaman Productions.