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<\/span><\/h4>\nSandra Laronde is Director of Indigenous Arts at The Banff Centre, an internationally respected arts, cultural, and educational institution in Banff, Alberta, as well as serving as Artistic Director of Red Sky Performance, an indigenous dance, theatre and music company based in Toronto. She divides her time between Toronto and Banff and is an accomplished and prolific innovator in the artistic and cultural sector as a director, producer, choreographer, performer, and creative leader. With Red Sky, Sandra\u2019s vision is to create a leading international company of world Indigenous performance in dance, theatre and music. The company has performed around the world, and in 2010, under her leadership, received a Dora Mavor Moore Award, and two Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards. Sandra is a graduate of the University of Toronto and, amongst other honours, received an honorary doctorate from Trent University, and an Expressive Arts Award from The Smithsonian Institution in Washington.<\/p>\n
www.banffcentre.ca<\/a>; www.redskyperformance.com<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak grew up in Repulse Bay, NWT (now Nunavut). During his childhood, his family lived a traditional Inuit lifestyle, hunting and fishing, travelling by dog sled, and living in igloos in the winter and tents in the summer.\u00a0 Michael is the author of nine children\u2019s books including A Promise<\/em> Is a Promise, Baseball Bats for<\/em> Christmas<\/em>, and Northern Lights: The Soccer Trails.\u00a0<\/em>His first novel for children, The Curse of the Shaman, a Marble Island Story<\/em>was published in 2007 and his latest publication is a picture book, T is for Territories<\/em>. Michael has been honoured numerous times for his writing, including the Ruth Schwartz Award for Northern Lights<\/em>, and the prestigious Vicky Metcalf Award for his body of work in Children\u2019s Literature. He moved recently from Rankin Inlet to Vancouver Island to allow better access to travel for touring. Michael writes and travels extensively throughout Canada, the United States and the world, telling stories.<\/p>\n www.michaelkusugak.com<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Meryl McMaster is a photo artist whose work explores questions of identity, representation, perception, myth, memory and the environment. Her work goes beyond straight photography to incorporate manual production, performance and self-reflection. Meryl\u2019s interest in the complexities of identity has led her to use her work as an opportunity to express her own bi-cultural heritage as a synergistic strength, rather than the struggle between opposites that is often portrayed. She has exhibited in a variety of galleries and shows, and received numerous awards for her work, including the Charles Pachter Prize for Emerging Artists, and the prestigious Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship. Her work is held by a number of private collections and in 2012 she was named the Art Bank of Canada\u2019s artist of the year. She is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design, where she was awarded the OCAD Medal.<\/p>\n www.merylmcmaster.com<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jean LaRose is the Chief Executive Officer of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. APTN is the first and only national Aboriginal broadcaster in the world, with programming by, for and about Aboriginal Peoples. The network supports the creative programming initiatives of over 80 independent Aboriginal producers. As one of the host broadcasters of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, APTN carried over ten hours per day of Olympic coverage in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages. Mr. LaRose was a member of the original Advisory Committee that oversaw the development of the concept and license proposal for APTN in 1997-1998. Since being named CEO in 2002 he has brought the network to national and international prominence. APTN was one of the first networks in Canada to move to a full HD technical platform. He is a founding member of the World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network and sits on the Board of Directors of the National Screen Institute, the Board of On-Screen Manitoba and the Nisga\u2019a Commercial Group. In 2011 he was awarded the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Media and Communications. He is a graduate of the University of Ottawa.<\/p>\n
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Michael Kusugak<\/span><\/h4>\n
\nMeryl McMaster
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Jean LaRose<\/span><\/h4>\n
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