Mr. Keith Henry is a Métis person that was born in Thompson, Manitoba and raised in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Mr. Henry achieved a B.Ed. from the University of Saskatchewan in 1995.

Mr. Henry began his career in 1995 with teaching positions and has become well known for his strategic administrative and negotiation skills. Since 1998 Mr. Henry has led numerous provincial, federal and industry negotiations on a variety of issues. He has been directly responsible for the financial administration of a number of Aboriginal non-profits and has a proven track record of success.

Mr. Henry started his own consulting company in October 2008 and is the President and CEO of KCD Consulting Incorporated that specializes in human resource development, economic development, project delivery, strategic planning, negotiations, and leadership development. Today Mr. Henry has worked or continues to work with several clients including the Aboriginal Tourism Association of Canada, Aboriginal Tourism Association of British Columbia, Treaty 8 Tribal Association, Prophet River First Nations, Halfway River First Nations, Alexis Creek Indian Band, Kelly Lake Métis Settlement Society, Tl’azt’en Nation, Lake Babine Nation, Trondek Hwichen, plus several others.

Mr. Henry has become an international Aboriginal cultural tourism leader receiving Aboriginal/Indigenous recognition as the former CEO for Aboriginal Tourism Association of British Columbia (AtBC). In April 2014 the inaugural World Indigenous Tourism Alliance award recognized the work of AtBC and Mr. Henry’s leadership. Mr. Henry has been spearheading the growth of authentic Aboriginal tourism in Canada as he worked to redevelop the national Aboriginal Tourism Association of Canada as an elected chair when this organization incorporated in April 2015. In October 2015 Mr. Henry took the full-time role as the Aboriginal Tourism Association of Canada’s CEO. In Canada, Mr. Henry continues to be recognized across the country as one of the leaders in Aboriginal tourism and has led many new initiatives such as the development of national standards on market readiness and authenticity, cruise industry opportunities and the national Aboriginal tourism research project on the economic value of Aboriginal cultural tourism. Mr. Henry was instrumental in the development of the national Aboriginal tourism strategy The Path Forward 2016-2021 which will focus on increasing Aboriginal market readiness, increasing jobs, and increasing revenues. Over the course of the last number of years, Mr. Henry has been invited to numerous international locations to support Aboriginal tourism strategies.

Mr. Henry volunteers time in the Aboriginal community and maintains several board positions including the former President of the Industry Council for Aboriginal Business, current chair of the Aboriginal Tourism Association of Canada, current Chair for the Native Education College, former member of the Minister’s Council on Tourism, member of the Vancouver Board of Trade’s Aboriginal Opportunities Committee, member of the World Indigenous Tourism Alliance, International Marketing Committee Destination Canada member, and current President of the BC Métis Federation.

Joe Desjarlais is from a large Métis family in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. He is proud of his mixed Ukrainian and Métis ancestry, with kinship in the Red River of Manitoba and across Western Canada. He currently lives in North Vancouver with his wife Danielle and family.

He graduated from Trinity Western University with a B.Ed degree and is currently completing an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Humanities with a history focus.

Joe’s journey of his own recovery of identity would not exist in its current form without the opportunities the BC Métis Federation have provided to ground his ideas and experiences in community life and relationship building with people and communities across the province, creating life-long friendships in the process.

He was project lead and co-author of the BC Metis Federation Terrestrial Study Final Report and is the coordinator for the current BC Métis Federation Terrestrial Cumulative Effects Initiative. These research projects are at the cutting edge of repatriation efforts in Canada.

Tansi! My name is Betty Fisher and I am seeking the position of Treasurer for the BC Métis Federation. I was born in Watrous, Saskatchewan to Métis parents Jules Belhumeur (St Lazare, Manitoba) and Verna Hayden (Ste. Marthe, Saskatchewan). My family tree includes names such as; Houle, Hogue, Desjarlais, Tourond, Plante, and Fleury to name a few. I was raised in a small Saskatchewan community named Young with my parents and three younger siblings.

I have been residing in British Columbia and working with the Métis since 2000, mainly in the capacity of finances. Prior to 2000, I worked for the Métis in Saskatchewan for 11 years, all of which was in finance. In addition to working specifically with Métis, I have also been employed with the Regina Friendship Centre and the Saskatchewan Association of Friendship Centres. A greater part of my working life has been dedicated to working with the Métis in a non-profit environment. The majority of my work experience has been in the field of accounting and I am very familiar with all aspects of the accounting cycle.

My education includes an accounting certificate from Wascanna Institute of Applied Arts & Science and several courses in Business Administration at the University of Saskatchewan. Other certificates include; Computerized Accounting, Accounting for Small Business, Basic Income Tax, Public Service Commission Accounting, Micro Computers, and Motivation Interviewing.

I have served as a board member for Regina Native Women, the Saskatoon Friendship Inn, and the Saskatchewan Council for Aboriginal Women’s Economic Development. I also held a Notary Public designation with the province of Saskatchewan. I am an active volunteer for the Cancer Society, as well as, the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

My hobbies include; beading, crocheting, knitting, sewing, quilting, reading, and baking. As a wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother I enjoy being around my close and extended family.

It would give me great pleasure to serve you as the Treasurer for the BC Métis Federation and I thank you for your support. Maarsii!

Greg Mazur was born in Antler, Saskatchewan and was raised on a small farm in southwestern Manitoba near Sinclair. He and his brother enjoyed a wonderful childhood on the farm, with many close cousins that valued family and friends. Greg attended university in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, and Calgary. After this, he pursued a career in selling farm equipment in Brandon and Neepawa Manitoba.

In the late 70’s Greg, his wife Peggy and his brother Larry, father and mother Russ and Azilda, started North West Implements, a John Deere dealership, in Roblin Manitoba. Larry’s wife Donna soon joined the family and the two brothers soon became respected business partners and provided great service in the farming community. During this time, Greg and Larry were members of the Roblin Metis Association at which time he formed the start of a deep commitment to maintain the Metis culture, traditions and to advocate for the protection and benefit of the Metis people.

Upon the closure of the dealership, Greg moved to Armstrong BC in 1988 and worked for Western Indian Agriculture in Kamloops, providing loans to First Nation and Metis farmers. Greg and Peggy had two sons born in Vernon, Chris, and Dan. Then they moved to Kamloops to be closer to his work and volunteer communities.

Greg joined the Shuswap Okanagan Metis Association in 1989 and became President in 1990. Greg was a Regional Director for the Pacific Metis Federation (PMF) and was a representative for the PMF at the Back to Batoche gathering. Greg was on the board for the Kamloops Native Housing Society and in 1992 began as a Director of All Nations Trust Company (ANTCO). Greg is still a Director with ANTCO.

The Shuswap Okanagan Metis Association held a series of meetings in 1993 and 1994 that led to the formation of the Metis Provincial Council of BC, the forerunner to the MNBC. Greg and Peggy were proud to host Senator Thelma Challifoux , who stayed at their home for a number of meetings that she moderated in Kamloops. Those meetings signaled the beginning of uniting the fractured Metis communities in BC.

In 1994, Greg was hired by the Province of British Columbia as Aboriginal Economic Liaison where he oversaw the Aboriginal Economic Advisory Board, the First Citizens Fund and the Student Bursary fund. So, the family moved to Sidney and Greg worked in Victoria. While on the Island, Greg was a member of the Fraser-Braseau Clan and worked with Richard Larson to establish the Red River West celebrations. Greg later took a position as Director, with the Equal Opportunity Secretariat, with a mandate to increase the representation of Aboriginal people in the Provincial Government. Greg also sat on the Board of the Native Education Center in Vancouver during that time.

Due to a change in government and the program was abolished, Greg worked for a short time for MNBC and helped introduce a Workforce Partnership strategy in BC. He then took a federal job with the Department of Indian Affairs, to be the BC Aboriginal Workforce Participation Initiative (AWPI) representative. He moved his family to headquarters in Ottawa to deliver the strategy nationally as the Manager of National Partnerships. The AWPI staff and partners implemented a very successful strategy to increase the participation of Aboriginal people in the economy.

Greg developed and signed over 17 major Federal, Provincial partnerships with diverse groups such as Michelin Tire, The Federation of Canadian Nurses Unions, Provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, the City of Grand Prairie and numerous others. During this time, Greg was able to connect with his relatives and visit his great- grandfather’s family home in Masham, Quebec, that is 300+ years old.

Greg returned to British Columbia in 2007, working in Vancouver for INAC as the Provincial Coordinator for Partnerships. He retired in Kelowna in 2010 due to health reasons.

Greg was President of the Kelowna Metis Association from 2013 to 2015 and is still an active Board member with ANTCO. He lives with his wife of 39 years, Peggy, in Westbank. And they officially tied the knot in their back yard this past July, with many friends and family from across Canada to help them celebrate in Metis style.

Sherry is the BCMF Office Manager who provides administrative support to the BCMF Board of Directors as well as to the President and other staff. She has worked in Métis politics for more than 20 years and also spends time on her first love – interior design. Sherry is Métis from the Belhumeur & Hayden families in the Qu’Appelle Valley in Saskatchewan. She makes her home in BC now and loves fitness and being outside in the garden.

Helen Houle is a retired teacher who has a specialization in French and English languages and has also educated in Social Studies and Sciences academics at high school levels within the Alberta education system. Helen grew up in her home community of McLennan, Alberta. She is currently tracing her family ancestry across Canada and discovering how her lineage is inherently linked to Indigenous family connections, languages and influences.
Helen graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Education degree, double major in French and English Language, minor in Psychology, including Linguistic training.

Helen’s background spans over 34 years as an Educator in school-based settings with a focused instruction of language programs to achieve measurable language progression outcomes. She has also facilitated language classes within community multicultural groups and owned and operated a child care center for nine years. Her inherent passion for learning culture and languages is reflected in her work and life experiences resulting in Helen becoming fluent in several languages. This has led her to work in an array of multicultural academic settings and projects.

As a self-identifying Indigenous woman, Helen is pleased to be working with the Michif language team on the revitalization of the French-Michif language of the Métis people. Even though she did not recognize it as French-Michif until joining the BC Métis Federation , Helen is familiar with the French-Michif language as it was spoken in her home as a child.