Team
Caroline Lemire
Director of Minwashin
Caroline Lemire
Director
Her entire team agrees that Caroline is a dynamic and unifying director. Having been with Minwashin since its creation in 2017, she has had the privilege of directing it from the very beginning. She has been working in cultural development for over 20 years. Originally from Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the ancestral Anicinabe territory, Caroline is very proud of her roots. She’s always on the lookout for rich moments: whether at her camp with family and friends, or cross-country skiing in the forest. Nicknamed wabmoko – mother white bear – by a friend, this is the animal that best represents her, as she can be very maternal and protective.
Roger Wylde
Arts & Culture Director
Roger Wylde
Arts & Culture Director
Roger Wylde, the Indian who walks with his head and his heart, is Abitibiwinni from the community of Pikogan. One of Minwashin’s founding members in 2017, he has always been committed to the organization’s mission, and today he is the guardian of its values, overseeing projects and employees. A visual artist, actor and traditional craftsman, Roger knows his territory, language and culture. Skunks often follow Roger’s footsteps. There’s so much more to this unloved animal than meets the eye: the same gland that spreads the stench actually has great and unique medicinal properties, and was used by our ancestors.
Wanda Crépeau-Etapp
Cultural Development Agent
Wanda Crépeau-Etapp
Cultural Development Agent
Wanda was born to an Algonquin, Cree and Québécoise mother and a Cree father. She still lives on the unceded territory of her Anicinabe ancestors, Nadowe Sibi (Senneterre). Wanda has worked with the Senneterre and Val-d’Or Friendship Centres and the Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute, and still sits on the board of directors of the first one. In 2018, she was one of the first graduates of Kiuna College. Since 2021, Wanda has been involved in a number of projects with Minwashin, especially those involving the next generation. Wanda is a big fan of summer and winter sports, whether played on a field or on a lake. Wanda is a hummingbird, because her heart can beat very fast, and she’s always in motion.
Janis Rivard
Projects Manager
Janis Rivard
Projects Manager
Janis has been part of the Minwashin team since 2022. Managing to multiple projects of the organism, she knows how to put her nose to the grindstone to promote them the best she can. A creative and athletic person, Janis grew up in a small village in Témiscamingue before leaving to study sociology in Quebec City and Montreal, then returning to work for Radio-Canada ICI Abitibi-Témiscamingue. A cook and insatiable Dungeons & Dragons player, Janis is like a wolf: she needs her pack, and knows how to be both serious when hunting and playful when it comes to play.
Cédric Corbeil
Videographer
Cédric Corbeil
Videographer
Cédric left Val-d’Or in 1999 to study video editing in Montreal. Ever since, he has believed that documentaries can change the world. With this in mind, he joined the team at Wapikoni mobile and Productions Nova Média and has held various positions on over a hundred productions. With a diploma in filmmaking from the Institut national de l’image et du son, Cédric was recruited by the Minwashin team in 2023 as a videographer and digital consultant. Cédric is like a bear: a peaceful creature for whom the most important mission is comfort and small pleasures.
Juste Roy
Project Coordinator – Nipakanatik
Juste Roy
Project Coordinator – Nipakanatik
Juste Roy began working for Minwashin in 2022, then as an intern. Today, he is responsible for the Nipakanatik virtual library project. Born in Quebec City, he completed a master’s degree in information science at the Université de Montréal in 2023. A musician in his spare time and an avid reader, Juste recognizes himself in the turtle, who requires patience to learn step by step the values, words and perspectives of anicinabek.
Chantal Simard Nattaway
Artistic & Cultural Agent
Chantal Simard Nattaway
Artistic & Cultural Agent
A nomad Anicinabekwe, wandering between Central Quebec and Abitibi, Chantal’s nest is in Arthabaska, close to her children and grandchildren. A Minwashin arts and culture agent since 2023, she has the pleasure of supporting cultural bearers through the PAPAKINECE project. Her life path has led her to become a multidisciplinary artist, an art therapy and cultural vision consultant. For her, art is the greatest and most powerful vector of communication. She recognizes herself in the loon, which looks so calm even though it pedals fast underwater, and is the only animal to carry its babies on its back, like the tikinagan.
Emilio Wawatie
Interdisciplinary Researcher
Emilio Wawatie
Interdisciplinary Researcher
Emilio is Mitcikanibikok-inik from Barrier Lake and Kitigan Zibi, born in Maniwaki and raised in Parc La Verendrye, Outaouais and Val-d’Or. With Minwashin since 2023, his role is focused on research of Anishnabe music. In 2023, he completed his BA in Music and First People’s studies at Concordia University. He also received the Radical Imagination grant (2023-2025) of the NDN Collective. Emilio likes to play video games, compose music electronically and go out in the bush. He feels connected to the crow, because his Kokom used to feed them, and he liked to observe them. The crow is funny and smart: it hops and dances, pull pranks on each other and can imitate the human voice when they hear it often enough.
Pascale Julien-Gilbert
Accounting & Administration
Pascale Julien-Gilbert
Accounting & Administration
Trained as a microbiologist and now an accountant, Pascale loves numbers and getting involved in the cultural community, as long as she stays behind the spotlight! Originally from Latulipe, Témiscamingue, she has been orchestrating accounting and administration for Minwashin since 2020. She has several university courses in administration and accounting to her credit. She’s passionate about nature, foraging, kayaking, reading and, of course, good food! Pascale is like a loon, because she loves water, lakes, tranquility and nature.
Şükran Tipi
Project Director – Protection and revitalization of Anicinabe language
Şükran Tipi
Project Director – Protection and revitalization of Anicinabe language
Şükran was born in Germany of Turkish parents. She grew up between these two countries. As an adult, she continues her nomadic life, letting life take her where she needs to go. She is one of the co-managers of Minwashin’s major project to protect and revitalize the Anicinabe language, where she acts as project director. Her role is to ensure that the language shines throughout the organization’s projects. Fascinated by the strength and fragility of human beings, Şükran is a strong, persevering mother and woman, with an easy happiness, who can find resourcing leaning against a large tree. She recognizes herself in the beaver, who works hard and with precision, adapting to its environment.
Nancy Wiscutie-Crépeau
Scientific Director – Protection and revitalization of the Anicinabe language
Nancy Wiscutie-Crépeau
Scientific Director – Protection and revitalization of the Anicinabe language
Nancy is born and raised in Senneterre – the place where her ancestors walked – and lives there today, after a detour to Ottawa for University. Nancy is a free-spirited, creative and meticulous woman: she enjoys taking the time to do things right. She is co-director of the major project to protect and revitalize the Anicinabe language, initiated by Minwashin, where she acts as scientific director. She is also a member of the Mitonentcikan committee, which ensures that the archives hosted by the NIPAKANATIK virtual library are used in the interests of our Nation, and guides the team to ensure that this project is carried out ethically and respectfully. A great lover of winter and its “clean air”, Nancy recognizes herself in the wolf, a courageous animal that also represents knowledge and instinct.
Eliane Kistabish
Project Coordinator – Madamikana
Eliane Kistabish
Project Coordinator – Madamikana
Eliane grew up in Amos but is originally from Pikogan. A creative and unifying person, she is involved in the community, both with young people and artists, of which she is a member. As part of the MADAMIKANA project, she works with indigenous artists to promote the Anicinabe presence through artistic reappropriation of the territory. She finds her grounding in the calm of the forest, whose variations she appreciates as the seasons go by. Eliane identifies with memeko – butterfly – which, curious, twirls delicately from flower to flower: she wants to see everything, smell everything, feel everything.
Board of Directors
Richard EJINAGOSI Kistabish
President
Richard EJINAGOSI Kistabish
President
An Anicinabe from the Abitibiwinni First Nation, EJINAGOSI Kistabish has worked in the health field at the regional and provincial levels for many years. He served as Chief of the Abitibiwinni First Nation and also as Grand Chief of the Algonquin Council of Quebec for two terms. He published booklets on mental health and the environment. He has spoken out against residential school abuse and social injustice. He was awarded the YMCA Peace Medal. Richard continues to fight against the harmful effects of acculturation by supporting the development of cultural and artistic projects in the Anicinabe territory with the Minwashin organization, of which he is president and co-founder.
Virginia Dumont
Director
Virginia Dumont
Director
Virginia Dumont is a specialist of Anishinaabe language from the community of Lac Simon. Through her teaching career and active participation in various projects and committees of cultural nature, she acquired rare expertise and knowledge that make her a reference throughout the region. She is an important advocate for traditional Anishinaabe learning methods, which she believes are key to the development of a school curriculum designed to ensure the success of young Anishinaabe people.
Jean-Jacques Lachapelle
Director
Jean-Jacques Lachapelle
Director
Jean-Jacques has been managing the MA – Musée d’art of Rouyn-Noranda since 2013. He holds a master’s degree in museology from UQAM and has 20 years’ experience in history and art museums. He has an in-depth knowledge of the arts in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and has developed a trusting relationship with aboriginal artists.
Dave Sergerie
Director
Dave Sergerie
Director
Of Anishinabe descent and a member of the Timiskaming First Nation, Dave was born in Val-d’Or where he spent most of his childhood. He then settled in Quebec city for his studies, and then in Montreal where he began his career within the First Nations public administration. Passionate about art, science, philosophy and history, he is always in search of knowledge, mutual understanding, synergy and harmony. His long experience as an advisor, negotiator and developer in the service of First Nations allowed him to actively contribute to the socio-economic security of his Indigenous sisters and brothers. He currently coordinates the ID1N Official Mark, whose Bear logo is used to authenticate First Nations businesses.
