Minister's Advisory Council on Indigenous Women (MACIW) Members

Name

Position

Term

Barb Ward-Burkitt

Fort McKay First Nation

Chair

2014 - Present

Coreen Child

Kwakiutl First Nation

Vice-Chair

2016 - Present

Barbara M. Ward-Burkitt (Chair)

Barbara Ward-Burkitt, Wahiyow Cawapata Scoo, is a member of the Fort McKay First Nation and is currently the Executive Director of the Prince George Native Friendship Centre. She has been actively connected in many capacities in the Friendship Centre movement since 1972. In the past she was a Faculty Staff Mentor in Field Programs for northern BC at Simon Fraser University and was a Child Care Worker with Indigenous students and with Special Needs students for the Quesnel School District. Active in her community, Ms. Ward-Burkitt has been the President of Prince George Nechako Aboriginal Employment and Training Association for many years, and also sits on many local, regional and provincial working groups and committees. She completed her Masters of Education degree from Simon Fraser University and her First Nations Design and Technology course from Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. Ms. Ward-Burkitt also holds her Provincial Instructor’s Diploma from the Vancouver Community College, her Native Adult Instructor’s Diploma from the B.C. Ministry of Education, Skills and Training and is a certified True Colors facilitator. Ms. Ward-Burkitt and her husband have been proudly raising five of their grandchildren for the past 13 years. Ms. Ward-Burkitt was invested into the Order of British Columbia in 2010.

Dr. Lorna Williams (Elder Representative)

Lorna Wanosts’a7 Williams is a member of the Lil’wat First Nation of Mount Currie. She is the former chair of the First Peoples’ Cultural Council. Until her retirement in 2013, she was the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous knowledge and learning, an associate professor in Indigenous Education, Curriculum and Instruction and Linguistics, Dr. Williams also worked at the Ministry of Education as Director of the Aboriginal Education Enhancement Branch. Prior to this appointment, she worked as the First Nations education specialist with the Vancouver School Board.  She was also the Program Director of Aboriginal Education at the University of Victoria. While there, she designed courses and degrees that included an Indigenous worldview and a focus on decolonization. Dr. Williams received her Doctorate in Education at the University of Tennessee in Educational Psychology. She co-directed a documentary film series called First Nations: The Circle Unbroken and has written children’s books, teachers’ guides and developed Lil’wat language curriculum to teach people to read and write the Lil’wat language.  Dr. Williams was invested into the Order of British Columbia in 1993 in recognition for her work in education

Coreen Child (Vice-Chair)

Coreen Child carries the ancestral Kwak’wala name ‘Yakawilas, the place where property is given’. She is from the Kwakiutl (Kwagiulth) First Nation and lives with her husband and three daughters in their home community of Tsaxis, near Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island. Yakawilas is a descendant of many high ranking Kwakiutl chiefs and their families, and can trace her lineage back 14 generations to the origin places of her ancestors. She carries a diploma in Indigenous child and youth care, a diploma in language revitalization, as well as a Bachelor of Education degree with a specialization in Kwak’wala language learning. She has recently completed her third consecutive term in service to her nation, most recently as Chief Councillor. Coreen continues to advocate and serve on many boards and committees that include the First Nations Technology Council of B.C. Board of Directors, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs’ All Chiefs Task Force on Children and Families, and the First Nations Education Council for School District 85, Vancouver Island North. She has also served as a representative to the BCAFN women's council. Coreen has worked at Camosun College as an instructional assistant to employment readiness preparation programs, at the University of Victoria as an Aboriginal service plan coordinator, at the Sacred Wolf Friendship Centre as a roots practitioner, and for the Kwakiutl Nation as a cultural researcher. Coreen is renowned for her many gifts of traditional dancing, singing and teaching, and she continues to play an active role as a cultural leader and educator amongst the Kwakwaka’wakw communities.

Raven Lacerte (Youth Representative)

Raven Lacerte is a proud member of the Carrier First Nation in northern BC and belongs to the Grizzly Bear Clan. She is the co-founder and Youth Ambassador for the Moose Hide Campaign, a national grass-roots effort to end violence towards Indigenous and non-Indigenous women and children. Raven is also a member of the National Steering Committee for the 4R's National Youth Movement. She is a hunter and a practitioner of traditional Indigenous cultural and ceremonial activities. Raven is currently completing her Bachelor Degree in Political Science at the University of Victoria.

Patricia Barkaskas

Patricia Barkaskas is Strategic Advisor to the Dean for the National Centre for Indigenous Laws and Associate Professor (limited term) in the Faculty of Law at the University of Victoria. She previously held the positions of Academic Director of Indigenous Legal Studies (2021-2022) and Academic Director of the Indigenous Community Legal Clinic (2014-2022) at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. Her current and future teaching and research interests include Indigenous laws, access to justice, clinical legal education, and decolonizing and Indigenizing law, particularly examining the value of Indigenous pedagogies in experiential and clinical learning for legal education. Patricia is Métis from Alberta.

Patricia has practiced in the areas of child protection (as parent's counsel), criminal, family, as well as civil litigation and prison law. She has worked closely with Indigenous peoples in their encounters with the justice system and has worked for Residential school survivors as a historical legal researcher for the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. In addition, Patricia has written Gladue reports for all levels of court in BC. 

Patricia holds an M.A. in History, with a focus on Indigenous histories in North America, and a J.D., with a Law and Social Justice Specialization, both from the University of British Columbia.

Monique Gray Smith

Kristy Joe

Kristy Joe is a strong, passionate, independent, Dakelh (Carrier) woman from Tl’azt’en Nation which is located in the Central Interior of British Columbia (B.C.) near Fort St. James. She was raised within the Lusilyoo (Frog) Clan. Kristy spent her childhood years in the Tl’azt’en and Nak’azdli Nation near Fort St. James with a large family that immersed itself in the harvesting and cultural activities within the family’s Keyoh (territory). Today she calls Merritt, B.C. home and is married to her husband Lennard Joe, who is from the Shackan Band within the Nlaka’pamux Nation; together they raise five children.

Kristy’s healing journey has given her the strength and perspective to live life in a good way and to fulfill her purpose, which is to lead others to reach their full potential so they will find peace, love and happiness within. Her positive attitude is contagious and is reflected in the many organizations where she contributes through her professional and free time. Kristy is a co-author of two best selling books of the Woman of Worth series with topics on Emotional Intelligence: Mental Health Matters & Women's Wellness: Aging at Any Age with Moxie!

She has played an integral part in the healing journey of many Indigenous youth, Elders, women, men and organizations throughout B.C. Her innovative and dynamic attitude, along with her strong administrative background, has allowed her to excel as an orchestrator and implementer of many programs which has resulted in stronger, healthier, and safer communities. She is recognized and acknowledged by many leaders throughout the province for her tireless commitment to creating a healthier nation.

Lauren Petersen

Lauren Petersen is a Two-Spirit Métis woman with maternal roots run deep in the Red River, descending from the Gagne, Ducharme, Gladue, Laframboise, Richot, Blondeau, Bedard, Berriault, Trottier, and Ross families. Her grandmother Rose Gagne was born in the historic Métis community of Ste. Rita, Manitoba. Her ancestors lived in St. Anne de Chenes, Fort Carlton, St. Boniface, St. Vital, Cross Lake, Fort Augustus and St. Francis Xavier prior to taking scrip.

Lauren is a proud citizen of Métis Nation BC (MNBC), and a member of Surrey Delta Métis Association. She holds a Bachelors of Arts in Humanities, a Graduate Diploma in Cultural Resource Management, and a Masters of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Victoria. Her research focuses on Indigenous leadership, anti-racism, power, privilege, and Métis pedagogy and governance.

Lauren has held various roles within the K-12 and post-secondary education systems in British Columbia. for the past decade, currently serving as the manager of K-12 education for MNBC. She has also taught English in both South Korea and Vietnam. She is a director at large for Lower Fraser Valley Aboriginal Society and is passionate about equity-building, systems change, and relationship building.

Name

Position

Meeting Days

Remuneration

Barb Ward-Burkitt

Chair

$1,750.00

Lauren Brown

Member

2.5

$650.00

Dr. Lorna Williams

Member

3

$750.00

Raven Lacerte

Member

2.5

$625.00

Patricia Barkaskas

Member

4.5

$1,125.00

Monique Gray Smith

Member

3.5

$875.00