We are forever grateful and humbled by our village.

This event was exclusively built on a cost recovery model. What does this mean? Thanks to the extreme generosity of many in this community, and most being women owned businesses, we were able to cover the costs of this event. Our time in the planning and organizing has been donated with the intent to give as much as possible to donate to Interval House. We will not have the total until the event is over, but we believe that every little bit counts. So thank YOU for believing in this dream of ours and helping us bring it to life. It takes a village, you are all now a part of it.

Meet the Keynote: Fallon Farinacci

My name is Fallon Farinacci, my spirit name is White Thunder Woman. I am a child survivor of MMIWG2S+. At the age of nine, my parents were murdered, while my brothers and I were held hostage for 8 hours, waiting for the RCMP to help. Eleven years later, our family lost my older brother. At the time of their deaths, my mother was 36, my older brother was 29, and my father was 37 years old. On September 16th, 2021, I surpassed the age my father was when he passed away, making me the oldest member of my family.

As an intergenerational survivor and a mother, I understand the importance of breaking the cycle of trauma. Healing and speaking openly about the ongoing discrimination and violence Indigenous peoples face is of the utmost importance to me to ensure this vicious cycle ends for the sake of future generations. Reclaiming my power and place is not only to honour my ancestor and my father but also for myself and, most importantly, for my children.

Opening Prayer and Words: Pearleen Kanewopasikot and Angeleah Bugler

Nosisim and I are happy to come and spend some time with you for this event. Nosisim is Cree and Blackfoot.  Her lineage traces back to Little Pine, Sweetgrass, Poundmaker and the Blood tribe. I have Nehiyaw and Anishnabe roots, raised in Little Pine as a Nehiyaw Iskwew.  My dad’s lineage is Cree/Anishnabe from Little Pine & Piapot and my mother’s lineage is Cree from Poundmaker/Little Pine.

I was raised around ceremony until we left the reserve for High School.  My stepfather, the Late Henry Bear was a pipe carrier and would start each day with smudge and prayer and he was also a song carrier. My mother went to residential school, so she followed the Catholic faith, but still attended ceremonies with my step dad.  My grandfather, my mom’s dad, was a song carrier.  My dad’s dad was a very spiritual person and had a special relationship with water.  We as nehiyawak, recognize the sentient nature of all things.

Today, I am working to pass on teachings to nosisim.  She is familiar with protocols, carries her own songs and says prayers in nehiyawewin. We have been mentored by some prolific knowledge carriers, most notably our sister in the Cree way, the Late Roxanne Tootoosis.  Daphie Pooyak, a Nakoda/Cree knowledge keeper continues to share her teachings and ceremonies with us.

I met Adrianne through the Saskatchewan Indian Yoga Association a few summers ago during its inaugural year of operation.   Adrianne and her husband Matt, children Walker & Nahanni have become good friends through skiing and powwow.  I enjoy seeing them at every event!

Greetings: Vice Chief Aly Bear

Aly Bear is the Third Vice Chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), a proud mother to her two daughters, a lawyer and a descendant of Dakota, Anishinaabe, and Nehiyaw heritage from the Whitecap Dakota First Nation.

Prior to being elected to the FSIN Executive Council, Vice Chief Bear dedicated herself to advancing her education, attending the University of Saskatchewan, and earning a bachelor’s degree with a major in Sociology and a minor in Indigenous Studies (with distinction). She went on to obtain her Juris Doctorate from the University of Saskatchewan, College of Law, in 2020. Vice Chief Bear was called to the Saskatchewan Bar in 2021. She worked on a wide range of files, however, her passion and primary focus as a lawyer has been, and continues to be, revitalizing and implementing traditional Indigenous laws and finding expression for these laws in modern-day Indigenous governance structures.

Vice Chief Bear has taken on leadership roles in her own Nation, within the College of Law and has been an advocate for First Nations women and MMIWG2+. This passion of advocacy brought her to hold the Women’s Commission Portfolio for the FSIN, where she has been working on bringing the Red Eagle Lodge to life while asserting the Declaration to Honour First Nation Women and Girls to be adopted by all levels of government including within First Nations institutions.

Vice Chief Bear is the third woman to be elected to the FSIN’s executive council. Vice Chief Bear has already successfully assembled the Youth Legislative Assembly, which has not happened in the past five years. There are now two newly elected youth representatives who she will mentor and work with to build a regional FSIN Youth Association.

Vice Chief Bear also holds the Education portfolio for the FSIN. Where she has been working with different First Nations regarding access to funding for post-secondary, language revitalization and land-based curriculum development initiatives through asserting and implementing our Treaty and Inherent Rights and holding the government accountable for what is owed.