Cecilia Point

A member of the Musqueam Nation, Cecilia Point is a political activist who stood for 200 plus days protecting her nation’s ancestral burial site from development in 2012. Since then she has taken part in countless political actions advocating for human rights and the environment. Cecilia has also dedicated many years to cultural preservation in the field of Aboriginal cultural and eco tourism. She currently holds the position of Controller for the Aboriginal Tourism Association of Canada. She is a facilitator for reconciliation workshops with the Bright New Day organization, and she has been designated a public speaker for her nation. She holds a Certificate in Business from UBC, supplemented with courses in First Nations studies, including hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (the Musqueam language).

Julia McIntyre-Smith

G̱ilakas;la. Nugwa;a̱m ;sa̱mgilagame;. Nugwaa̱m Musgamagw Dzawada̱;enux̱w.. Julia’s traditional name is Abalone Shell Woman. She is Musgamagw Dzawada̱;enux̱w. She was born in Whitehorse, grew up in Yellowknife, and now lives in Squamish. Her culture wasn’t part of her life as a child, but she was always proud to be indigenous. She has found even more pride in her heritage since starting to connect with the culture, the people, and the land. The connection her ancestors had with the natural world is something she strives for, and it is what drives her to stand up for wild salmon. She is a beader, trapper, drummer and outdoor guide. She is also a thrift store enthusiast.

Dr. David Suzuki

Award-winning geneticist and broadcaster David Suzuki co-founded the David Suzuki Foundation in 1990. In 1975, he helped launch and host the long-running CBC Radio’s, Quirks and Quarks. In 1979, he became familiar to audiences around the world as host of CBC TV’s The Nature of Things, which still airs new
episodes.

From 1969 to 2001, he was a faculty member at the University of British Columbia, and he is currently professor emeritus. He is widely recognized as a world leader in sustainable ecology and has received numerous awards for his work, including a UNESCO prize for science and a United Nations Environment Program medal. He is also a Companion of the Order of Canada. He has 29 honorary degrees from universities in Canada, the US and Australia. For his support of Canada’s Indigenous peoples, Suzuki has been honoured with eight names and formal adoption by two First Nations. He states: “When we forget that we are embedded in the natural world, we also forget that what we do to our surroundings we are doing to ourselves.”

Ernest Alfred

Ernest Alfred is a elected band counsellor and a teacher for Indigenous language and culture from Alert Bay, descending from the ‘Namgis, Mamalilikala and Tawit’sis First Nations. Growing up on his father’s fishing boat with the teachings of his parents and his grandparents, he understood the importance of a healthy ecosystem for the wellbeing of all who depended on it. For the past 13 years, Ernest has taught Kwakwala, oral traditions and culture at School District 85. It is a career he loves, but during the summer of 2016, while aboard the Sea Shepherd’s R/V Martin Sheen in the Broughton Archipelago, Ernest saw the devastating impact that Open Net Pen Fish Farms were having on his traditional territories. In the summer of 2017, Ernest took a leave from his teaching position to work on stopping the impending renewal of the fish farms leases. “There’s no more time for meetings or studies—our fish are dying” he stated when asked why he started the occupation of the Swanson Island fish farm on August 24, 2017.