the kina8at center
KINA8AT'S MISSION
The word Kina8at (pronounced "Kinawat") means "together" in the Algonquin language. This word sums up the mission of our non-profit organization:
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Allow cultural reconnection among First Nations
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Foster the sharing of Indigenous cultures with everyone
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In the spirit of Reconciliation and with respect for Mother Earth
THE PERMANENT TEAM OF KINA8AT
Summer Team 2020
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
2023-2024
Our Board of Directors is made up of 9 director members, more than half of whom are Indigenous. In order to provide ourselves with a structure that is in line with tradition, we have also created an elder role within the Board. The elder does not have the right to vote. He/she simply acts as a resource person, on a spiritual level.
President: Serge Aubin – Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk Indigenous
Vice-President: Dominique (T8aminik) Rankin – Abitibiwinni Anicinape Indigenous
Treasurer: Karine Charest – Allochtone
Secretary: Anne-Marie Lyrette – Allochtone
Administrator: Audrey Girard - Allochtone
Administrator: Johnny Wylde – Abitibiwinni Anicinape Indigenous Peoples
Administrator: Jean-François Tremblay – Allochtone
Administrator: Mathieu Desjardins - Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk Indigenous
Eldest: Marie-Josée Tardif
The Council of Visionaries
This Council, bringing together elders and cultural bearers, guides Kina8at through its mission, values and vision.
Photo taken during the meeting on September 22, 2024 at Kina8at. Present (from left to right, from top to bottom):
Bryce Morrison, Red River Metis originally from Alberta, now lives in Quebec
Harry McKenzie (accompanist)
Angus Dicky, Denny from Fort Nelson, British Columbia
Andrew Mowatt, Anicinape of Pikogan, Quebec
Carole Flamand, Atikamekw of Manawan, Quebec
Marie-Josée Tardif, non-native and bearer of culture, lives in Quebec
Arlene Closter, Anicinape of Pikwakanagan (Golden Lake), Ontario
Fay – Virginia Desjarlais, Anicinape originally from Saskatchewan, Muskowekwan and Pasqua First Nations, now lives in Quebec
Jocelyne Laroche, non-native and bearer of culture, lives in Quebec
Serge Aubin, Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk (Maliseet of Viger), Quebec
Joan Wabanonik, Anicinape of Lac Simon, Quebec
Diane Reid-Ottereyes, Cree of Eeyou Istchee (James Bay), Quebec
Dominique Rankin, Anicinape of Pikogan, Quebec
Johnny Wylde, Anicinape of Pikogan, Quebec
Absent that day:
Kevin Deer, Kanyen'kehà:ka (Mohawk) of Kahnawà:ke
Nadine Rousselot, Innu from Pessamit
Jacques Newashish, Atikamekw of Wemotaci
"I want young people to have access to places where they can be proud of being Indigenous and learn . It's so important to have spaces, to have elders. There's really a difference in intervention when you can reconnect with elders and cultures. These are the needs I hear every day." - Fay
"My life is like a string of pearls. Some of the pearls are black, but it's my life. My mother taught me that for a hare skin blanket to be strong, you have to sew it in a grid pattern. I think of the same image for the beaded threads of our lives that we can weave together like that to be stronger. What's healthy at Kina8at is inclusivity ." - Angus
"I shared a lot in the Schools in Abitibi about our culture and our history and it helped me grow, to heal, to be proud to be anicinape. What I would like for Kina8at, about the museum, what came to me: the nap8an, the games we played when we were young. I learned a lot about what we find in the animal and showing it to young people . The animal has its spirit, its medicine..." - Joan
"I was born and raised in the forest, even though I am associated with the Waswanipi community. And even though I went to boarding school from 8 to 13 years old. My father and Chomis T8aminik's father were the best of friends! I have been involved in Kina8at activities for a long time. Most of the elders who taught me have left for the spirit world. I have no choice but to just continue on my path and share what they have given me. I see that all this knowledge was passed down for the sake of sharing with other peoples ." - Dianne
"I need love, to live together, ceremonies, because sometimes I still have to deal with my old dependencies. The first teaching of the ancestors is to share ." - Bryce
"Today, this is what I want to tell the whole world: We have to do things together . If we don't come together, with everything that's happening on the planet, we won't get there. I work with indigenous people from El Salvador and Mexico and they have the same questions. We have to be able to work together to move forward and for Kina8at to be able to help." - Jocelyne
"At Kina8at, I appreciate that we open the door to everyone. That's true reconciliation . I would like Kina8at to do for others what it did for me. At 50, I knew nothing about my culture or even residential schools. It's not a joke! I would like us to be able to reach out to those who, like me, were colonized and to awaken their memory as we did for me." - Serge
"My work is very much for the former residential school survivors. I have heard many very detailed stories of abuse. It is good for us to meet regularly as residential school survivors, but also with the younger ones . A lot of times, we don't talk about the residential school. Just about ourselves." - Johnny
" We need to bring young people back to ancestral territories , in contact with the forest, without wifi! Many young people think that the reserve was the territory of their ancestors. We could welcome them here in Kina8at for a few days, with elders, so that they can learn about the forest." - Andrew
