Indigenous Directions Leadership Council

Ron Abraira has worked in the field of entrepreneurship and economic development for over thirty years. After serving in the United States Navy, he attended the State University of New York at Buffalo where he achieved a BS in Business Administration in 1986. Subsequently, he worked as a Business Services Officer in the community economic development agency in Kahnawake primarily writing business plans for local entrepreneurs, and performing industry and market research duties for community economic development projects and studies.

In the spring of 1990 he was named the Executive Director for the economic development agency in Kahnawake and guided the development of both the capital corporation (a business development investment fund) and the employment and training agency (a program that amongst its training activities helps educate potential entrepreneurs). During this time he also attended Concordia University and achieved his Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 1995. His MBA research paper was a cross cultural study of entrepreneurship. Besides teaching entrepreneurship at the John Molson School of Business (Concordia University), he also works as a management consultant, and is a member of the Investment Committee of the First Nations Venture Capital Fund of Quebec.

Director, Decolonizing Curriculum and Pedagogy, Ed.D.

Donna Kahérakwas Goodleaf is a citizen of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation, Turtle Clan, from the community of Kahnawake.

Some of Dr. Goodleaf’s previously held roles include Executive Director of the Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center, and part-time faculty member in First Peoples Studies.

She brings her rich knowledge, cultural teachings, and educational expertise to her position as Concordia’s Director of Indigenous Curriculum and Pedagogy. Based out of the Centre for Teaching and Learning, Dr. Goodleaf plans on working with faculty members to rewrite their curricula to help ensure that Indigenous students can see themselves and their stories reflected in their studies.

Associate Professor, Dept. of Art History, University Research Chair in Circumpolar Indigenous Arts, and Special Advisor to the Provost on Advancing Indigenous Knowledges

Heather Igloliorte, an Inuk scholar and curator from Nunatsiavut currently residing in Montreal, Quebec, has published extensively on Inuit and other Indigenous arts in academic journals such as PUBLIC, Art Link, TOPIA, Art Journal, and RACAR and in texts such as Mapping Modernisms: Art, Indigeneity, Colonialism  (2018), Negotiations in a Vacant Lot: Studying the Visual in Canada (2014), and Curating Difficult Knowledge (2011)​. She is the recipient of the CAA 2017 Art Journal Article of the Year Award for her essay, “Curating Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit: Inuit Knowledge in the Qallunaat Art Museum” and her nationally-touring exhibition SakKijâjuk: Art and Craft from Nunatsiavut (2016-2020) received a 2017 Outstanding Achievement Award from the Canadian Museums Association. Her recent curatorial projects include the contemporary circumpolar art exhibition Among All These Tundras (2018); the retrospective Alootook Ipellie: Walking Both Sides of an Invisible Border (2018); and the inaugural exhibitions of the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s Inuit Art Centre, opening 2020. 

Heather is very involved in service to Indigenous peoples through the arts and academia. She currently serves as the co-Chair of the WAG's Indigenous Advisory Circle, and sits on the Indigenous advisory committees of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, and the National Film Board of Canada. Heather also serves as a member of the Faculty Council of the Otsego Institute,​and on the Board of Directors of the Inuit Art Foundation, Native American Art Studies Association, and the Nunavut Film Development Corporation.

University Research Chair in Computational Media and the Indigenous Future Imaginary, Professor of Design and Computation Arts, Trudeau Fellow

Jason Edward Lewis is a digital media artist, poet and software designer. He founded Obx Laboratory for Experimental Media, where he directs research/ creation projects developing intriguing new forms of expression by working on conceptual, creative, cultural, and technical levels simultaneously.

He is the director of the Initiative for Indigenous Futures, a seven-year SSHRC-funded partnership focused on how Indigenous communities imagine themselves seven generations hence.

He co-founded and co-directs the Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace research network that investigates how Indigenous people can participate in the shaping of digital media as well as the Skins Workshops on Aboriginal Storytelling and Video Game Design.

Jason’s creative work has been featured in five solo exhibitions as well as at Ars Electronica, ISEA, SIGGRAPH, Urban Screens, Elektra, and Mobilefest, among other venues. His writing about new media has been presented at conferences, festivals and exhibitions on four continents and his work has won multiple awards. He is Cherokee, Hawaiian, and Samoan, born and raised in the mountains of northern California.

Undergraduate Student – Human Relations major, First People Studies minor.

Belle Ken’nikatsi’tsá:á Phillips is Kanienkeha:ka (Mohawk) from Kahnawake.

She is in her second year at Concordia University pursing a BA in Human Relations with a concentration in Community Development and minor in First People Studies.

Belle is part of the founding group of students that created the Indigenous Student Ambassadors at Champlain College St-Lambert. This group worked to help indigenize the campus and offer support to First Nations students.

She also works part-time at Tewatohnhi’saktha in Kahnawake as the Youth Programs Assistant.

Indigenous Community Engagement Coordinator, Office of Community Engagement

Geneviève Sioui is Wendat from Wendake and grew up in Québec city. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Anthropology and a Specialized Graduate Diploma in Society, Public Policy and Health both from Université de Montréal. 

For the last decade, she has worked closely with urban Indigenous communities in Québec advocating for social justice in domains of education, health, and social services.

She has been involved in various research projects at the Dialog Network (INRS), CRI-VIFF (Université de Montréal) and Concordia University. 

Her professional experiences also include supporting and developing strategies for the educational success of Indigenous youth as an Education Support Agent at the Centre d’amitié autochtone de Lanaudière and offering socio-academic support to Indigenous students at the Cégep Régional de Lanaudière.

Geneviève has taught anthropology at Kiuna Institute, the only First Nations College in Quebec.

She is currently responsible for developing and stewarding partnerships with Indigenous community stakeholders as part of the University’s broad Indigenous Directions strategies.

Allan Vicaire is Mi’kmaw from the community of Listuguj within Quebec.

In his role as project coordinator, he provides strategic advice, project management and operational activities for the Office for Indigenous Directions.

Prior to joining the Office of the Provost, Allan worked at McGill University for 9 years serving as the Director of the First Peoples’ House where he was responsible for the management of the student resource centre and provided strategic input throughout the university to ensure Indigenous student success. He also worked as the Indigenous Equity Advisor where he was responsible for designing educational programming such as the Indigenous Awareness Week and developing training in order to educate the McGill community about Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Allan is also a Concordia alumnus, having graduated in 2009 with a BA in Political Science.