What does the future of Indigenous governance look like?

Kurtis Boyer is a citizen of the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan, and he is a political scientist in the areas of Indigenous governance and political psychology. He has professional experience with Indigenous organizations and governments, including the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan, where he worked as an adviser on governance and constitutional reform. In 2021 he was appointed to the UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab. He has worked extensively on Indigenous politics, self-governance, and law, focusing on Inuit self-determination through living-resource management, Métis governance, and drivers of collaborative economic development between municipal and band administrations. Kurtis completed his PhD in political science at the University of Lund in Sweden.

Danette Starblanket is an urban member of the Star Blanket Cree Nation in Treaty 4 Territory, Saskatchewan. She has served as an educator and First Nations civil servant, offering insight on treaties and Indigenous politics. She has taught Indigenous studies at First Nations University of Canada and women and gender studies, University of Regina, as well as political science at the universities of Regina and Saskatchewan. Over the period 2000-16, she served in various capacities at the Federation of Saskatchewan Indigenous Nations, including as executive director of the Justice Secretariat, the Lands and Resources Secretariat and the Education and Training Secretariat. She has consulted with First Nations organizations and many non-Indigenous organizations.

Merelda Fiddler-Potter is a former journalist and documentary film-maker. As a Métis woman, she is committed to creating space in all institutions for Indigenous peoples. She is a PHD candidate at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, and she is a sessional lecturer at the First Nations University of Canada, University of Regina, teaching in the Indigenous Studies, Communication Arts, Indigenous Business, and Reconciliation Certificate programs. She worked for 16 years at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and was the Dallas W. Smythe Chair at the University of Regina School of Journalism (2017-18). Her research explores the media’s role in helping Canadians learn the truth of our colonial policies. Merelda has a master of arts in Canadian plains studies, and a bachelor of journalism and communications from the University of Regina.