Team
Caroline Lemire
Director of Minwashin
Caroline Lemire
Director of Minwashin
Caroline Lemire has dedicated herself to the recognition and reappropriation of Anicinabe culture and language across the territory for nearly 10 years, while working to bridge the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous cultures. Her dynamism and her ability to rally people around the same objectives are at the origin of the Anicinabe Cultural Circle and Minwashin itself. Having worked in the cultural sector for more than twenty years, she is well acquainted with the specific realities of the artistic fields and all their aspects, from creation to distribution.
Amélie Brassard
Cultural Development Officer
Amélie Brassard
Cultural Development Officer
Amélie is a member of the Long Point First Nation community in Témiscamingue. She is familiar with the Anicinabe environment and project coordination, having worked for 3 years as an economic development officer in her home community. Amélie holds a bachelor’s degree in biology, with a specialty in terrestrial and aquatic ecology, and completed a short program in management. In addition, she has carried out several projects with other organizations in the region on different cultural and social subjects.
Wanda Crépeau-Etapp
Cultural Development Officer
Wanda Crépeau-Etapp
Cultural Development Officer
Wanda was born to a mother of Algonquin, Cree and Quebecois origin and a Cree father. She has occupied the Anicinabe unceded ancestral territory where she carries out her traditional practices. Wanda has served on the Board of Directors as a youth representative and also worked at the Senneterre Native Friendship Centre, the Val-d’Or Native Friendship Centre and the Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute in Oujé-Bougoumou with the goal of strengthening Indigenous pride and identity and promoting cultural carriers. She obtained her college diploma from Kiuna College in First Nations Social Science in 2018.
Marie-Raphaëlle Leblond
Project manager – Research and documentation
Marie-Raphaëlle Leblond
strategic editor
Marie-Raphaëlle holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Modern Languages from Université Laval. She worked in the humanitarian sector in Lebanon before embarking on a freelance career. In 2018, she travelled through the Anicinabe territory for the first time and met the Minwashin team. Marie-Raphaëlle visited the nine Anicinabe communities of Quebec in the summer of 2019 to evaluate their needs in cultural and artistic development while recording a written and photographic portrait of the many culture bearers she met along the way.
Janis Rivard
Project manager – Communication
Janis Rivard
Project manager – Communication
Janis grew up in Témiscamingue, on a horse farm. She left the region to study sociology at the Université du Québec à Montréal, before returning to Rouyn-Noranda at the beginning of the pandemic. She worked for the regional Radio-Canada station, ICI Abitibi-Témiscamingue, where she held several positions: researcher, journalist, producer and cultural columnist. The diversity of these positions and the journalistic rigor of the station have taught her a lot. Today, Janis is responsible for communications within the Minwashin team and can use her knowledge of the media world to promote the organization’s projects as well as the cultural achievements of the members of the Anicinabek communities.
Board of Directors
Richard Kistabish
President
Richard Kistabish
President
An Anicinabe from the Abitibiwinni First Nation, Mr. 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.
Roger Wylde
Vice-president
Roger Wylde
Vice-president
Roger is an Abitibiwinni from the community of Pikogan. Visual artist, actor, traditional craftsman, he uses many ways to express his creativity. With his family, he learned handicraft, hide tanning, hunting and fishing. He knows his territory, his language and his culture. Roger Wylde’s involvements have multiplied in recent years. From theatre to exhibition, animation and creation projects, he is involved with several cultural committees. Clearly, his many commitments are consistent with his artistic and social aspirations.
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 the author of several tools for teaching the Anishinaabe language, including a visual lexicon. 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. Virginia Dumont’s ongoing commitment to transmitting and revitalizing the Anishinaabe language is demonstrated in the expertise and translation services she offers.
Nancy Crépeau
Director
Nancy Crépeau
Director
Nancy Crépeau is a doctoral candidate in education at the University of Ottawa, in second language didactics. She was born in Senneterre, Abitibi, to a mother of Algonquin/Cree origin and a Quebecois father. She is currently working to develop a model of reading instruction that takes into account the ancestral language and culture of Anicinabe children. For the past fifteen years, she has been particularly involved in the field of First Nations education
Jean Cotten
Director
Jean Cotten
Director
Retired from public service, Jean Cotten holds a Bachelor of Laws from Université Laval and a diploma in notarial law, in addition to having completed his master’s degree in the management of small and medium-sized organizations. He has held positions as a public administrator in various institutions: Parks Canada, Algonquin and Innu First Nations, Regional Health and Social Services Board, Regional Development Council, Municipality of Amos, James Bay Development Corporation. From 1996 to 1998, he was a volunteer cooperant in Mali.
In the past, he has been involved in various organizations. Today, he chairs the board of directors of Promutuelle Assurance Boréale.
Anicinabe Cultural Circle
Created in June 2015, the Anicinabe Cultural Circle is a one-of-a-kind roundtable where each regional community and Friendship Centre has a place. Together, we explore and share ways of revitalising, protecting and transmitting Anicinabe culture. The Circle’s meetings allow us to better understand the needs of the communities. They are also an opportunity for representatives from various organisations to meet with their counterparts, present their services and create new networks.
Partners
