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Métis Thinkers Network, Winnipeg, MB (2026)

04/23/2026

The Métis Thinkers Network is built by thinkers. Meet Jenny Foidart (She/They).

Jenny Foidart (she/they) is a mother, singer, birth worker/doula, and community organizer based in Winnipeg. Her Southern Michif family has roots in Ste. Anne and St. Boniface, Manitoba, with a long arduous history of political resistance; she is also of Icelandic, Scottish, and Ukrainian settler heritage. Jenny became an academic later in life, and has since published works in the modes of writing, oral history, and music. They have 20 years of experience organizing, promoting, and executing events and art-based shows in Winnipeg and surrounding areas. Her performer background has earned her titles such as Batoche Idol 2024 and Cweed’s Cabaret Talent Search winner 2025. Catch her performing at Back To Batoche Days 2026 and come say hi if you are there!

“It excited me greatly to use my skills to organize events for our community to come together to visit, learn, and enjoy each other and the arts”.

04/23/2026

The Métis Thinkers Network is built by thinkers. MeetAngela Rancourt (She/Her).

Angela is a Michif mother, daughter, aunt, and educator from the Métis community of St. Louis, Saskatchewan. A descendant of the Boucher, Bremner, and Lépine families, she is among the first to settle in St. Louis from Red River in 1882 and is deeply committed to preserving the Michif French language and cultural identity. With more than 15 years of experience in education, Angela is a proud member of the River Women Collective and a graduate of SUNTEP (B.Ed., ‘09) and Gabriel Dumont Institute/University of Regina (M.Ed., ‘19). She is currently an EdD candidate in the Gabriel Dumont Institute/University of Regina’s inaugural Doctorate of Indigenous Education program, focusing on community-centred revitalization of Michif French language and culture through education. Angela continues to teach in her home community, delivering a community-developed Michif French high school curriculum and supporting the integration of language and culture throughout the school and community.

04/02/2026

The Métis Thinkers Network is built by thinkers. Meet Lucien Letourneau.

Lucien Letourneau is Red River Métis, with a background in cell/molecular biology including two published research credits and currently works as a STEM Education Specialist at the Society for Canadian Women in Science & Technology. Lucien's work focuses on lowering barriers to access in STEM fields for Indigenous peoples and creating STEM Education & Outreach programs inspired by two-eyed seeing. Lucien is on the Knowledge Hub committee for the Métis Thinkers Network.

04/01/2026

The Métis Thinkers Network is built by thinkers. Meet Valdine Alycia (They/Them).

Mx. Valdine (they/them) is a citizen of the Manitoba Metis Federation Thompson local, with family ties to Treaty Two in Crane River and Winnipegosis. Their Metis family names are Ducharme, Spence, Inkster, Howse, and Sanderson, and they are descendants of the HBC half-breeds who fled the Red River Settlement to Fort Victoria, Alberta.

Valdine works as an Instructional Specialist at University College of the North on Treaty Five and they completed their Masters degree with an autoethnography about northern Metis beadwork disability stories. They have collaborated on several publications including a shadow report to the UN regarding the experiences of Indigenous people with disabilities in Canada, the Ongomiizwin Indigenous Health Framework, as well as a book by Coach House Press regarding Accessible Futures.

As a Metis educator, they strive to ensure every learner has access to inclusive education that both validates Indigenous ways of knowing and fosters a sense of belonging.

03/31/2026

The Métis Thinkers Network is built by thinkers. Meet Jodi Bremner.

Mikwasinîy Iskwêw
Jodi Bremner BSW, MSW, RSW

Jodi completed her Masters in Clinical Social Work from the University of Calgary in June 2025, and her BSW in 2003. She works as a Mental Health Therapist in northern Alberta, and is currently learning with Kihew Awasis Wakamik to complete her 2nd Birth Attendant training. Jodi has firsthand knowledge of how reconnecting our severed ties to ceremony, land, language, culture and community can impact our mental health and wellness. Research interests include how Métis identity is intrinsically connected to mental wellbeing. She is a proud Métis woman, with a long and storied history of ancestors who walked this land before it was known as Canada.

03/29/2026

The Métis Thinkers Network is built by thinkers. Meet Tanya Ball (She/Her).

Tanya Ball (she/her) is a Michif woman, born in wînipêk. She currently resides in amiskwaciwâskahikan where she is a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Native Studies at University of Alberta. While Tanya is a member of the Otipimisiwak Métis Government (formerly Metis Nation of Alberta), she has filial ties to the marsh, growing up with stories about the St. Ambroise community. Professionally, she works as an Assistant Professor at Concordia University of Edmonton in Indigenous Studies. Her research interests center around Michif experiences of: community-led research, data governance, storytelling, and gender.

03/28/2026

The Métis Thinkers Network is built by thinkers. Meet Mel Lefebvre (She/They).

Kakwa Dr. Mel Lefebvre (she/they) is a Two-Spirit Michif professor of First Peoples Studies at Concordia University, an ancestral skin marker, and community worker based in Tiotia:ke / Mooniyang / Montreal. A citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation, Mel’s grandmother's family came from Fisher Branch, Manitoba (Treaty 5 territory, Interlake Region) to Quebec in the early 1900s. Some of her Michif family names include Delorme, Desjardins, Guiboche, Vivier, Malaterre, Jerome and Roque. Her practice is focused on traditional tattooing as a mode of healing and reconnection for urban Indigenous people with a particular focus on 2SLGBTQ+ and Indigenous women as well as reclaiming and imagining traditional gender-fluid skin markings in contemporary and future contexts. Mel is the vice-president of the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal where she has served for many years.

03/27/2026

The Métis Thinkers Network is built by thinkers. Meet Arielle Garand.

Arielle Garand is a Sessional Instructor at the University of Manitoba in the department of Indigenous Studies and a school teacher within Winnipeg. Her research focuses on Indigenous education, Métis pedagogy, and Land-based learning practices in elementary classrooms. Arielle holds a Master’s degree in Education and has extensive experience teaching in English and French programs. She has served as Vice President of the Council for Indigenous Education in Manitoba, leading initiatives that integrate authentic Indigenous perspectives into curricula. Her work emphasizes relational, community-oriented approaches to learning and the revitalization of Métis culture. Arielle is committed to fostering inclusive educational environments that promote reconciliation and equity for all learners.

03/26/2026

The Métis Thinkers Network is built by thinkers. Meet Benny Michaud (He/She/They).

Benny Michaud (he/she/they) is a Red River Metis and citizen of the Manitoba Metis Federation. They are an educator, advocate, and sundancer whose community and ceremonial commitments guide their research processes. Currently living in Algonquin Territory (Ottawa), they have taught courses focused on Metis History and Two-Spirit Worldviews. Beyond the classroom, they are known as a bridge builder and someone who can convey Indigenous knowledge systems in ways that bring about broader understanding of Indigenous people's lived realities.

They are currently a PhD candidate at Carleton University researching the community and ceremonial roles and responsibilities of trans/nonbinary Metis. This research is grounded in the principles of wahkootowin and relational accountability. Beyond this they have worked with various national healthcare organizations in best practices for providing culturally-specific and trauma-informed care to Indigenous and Indigiqueer people. Their commitment to the Two-Spirit community was recognized in their receiving the King Charles III Coronation Medal in 2025.

03/25/2026

The Métis Thinkers Network is built by thinkers. Meet Michelle Porter.

MICHELLE PORTER's debut novel, A Grandmother Begins the Story, won the 2024 Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award and was a finalist for the 2023 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. Her previous books include the memoir Scratching River and Approaching Fire, a work of creative nonfiction about her great-grandfather, a fiddler from the Red River, which was shortlisted for the Indigenous Voices Award. Michelle is the descendent of a long line of Métis storytellers and she is a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation. Michelle lives in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, where she teaches creative writing and Métis Literature at Memorial University.

03/24/2026

The Métis Thinkers Network is built by thinkers. Meet Kristy McLeod (She/Her).

Kristy is a registered Métis with family roots in the Lac St. Anne and Red River Settlements. Her Métis family names are L’Hirondelle, Nipissing, Pilon, and Courteorielle. She is a PhD Candidate in Curriculum and Instruction exploring Métis Identity. She has extensive experience in the education field. She has been an educator for over 25 years, as a teacher in the K-12 system, a sessional instructor, and giving presentations on Indigenous perspectives, decolonization, Truth and Reconciliation, and ways to include Métis culture in classrooms.

Kristy was chair of Métis Nation of Victoria (MNGV)’s Education Committee and on its board from 2021–2025. She worked as the interim executive director for MNGV. She is co-owner of the Indigenous company PathWise Solutions Inc., which creates eLearning and web solutions for diverse clients. Many projects include helping both Indigenous and non-Indigenous clients bring Indigenous ways of knowing and learning into education and training. Kristy also supports Indigenous authors by providing consulting services for Medicine Wheel Publishing. PathWise Solutions collaborated with Indigenous authors and Medicine Wheel Publishing to develop educational videos and curricula to facilitate sharing of Indigenous resources. Kristy created curricula for Indigenous resources, including for the game The Truth in Truth and Reconciliation.

She recently co-authored the book ˆDecolonization and Me: Conversations about Healing a Nation and Ourselves with Phyllis Webstad, one of the founders of Orange Shirt Day. Her focus in everything she does is to recognise the value of diverse perspectives and the importance of consultation in creating unity.

Métis Thinkers Network

04/23/2026

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