Lewis Cardinal Woodland Cree from the Sucker Creek Cree First Nation | Northern Alberta, Canada Lewis is a communicator and educator, he has dedicated his life’s work to creating and maintaining connections and relationships that cross-cultural divides. His work has mirrored his personal vision of a socially just and responsive society. His long track record of public service includes, founding Board Member of Alberta Aboriginal Arts, Board Member of Theatre Network, Co-Chair of the Aboriginal Commission for Human Rights and Justice, and Lewis has received Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for Public Service, the Indspire Award for Public Service (the highest award given to an Indigenous person by Indigenous people in Canada), the Province of Alberta’s Centennial Medal for his work in Human Rights and Diversity, the Distinguished Alumni Award from Grant MacEwan University, and was recently conferred the Honorary Degree of “Doctor of Sacred Letters” from St. Stephen’s College at the University of Alberta. His consulting company, Cardinal Strategic Communications, specializes in Indigenous education, governance, and communications.

Mindahi Bastida Muñoz Mindahi is the chief leader  of the Grand Council of the Eagle and the Condor. Mindahi Bastida has been the Director of the Original Nations Program of the Fountain 2020-2023 and until July 2020 was  the Director of the Original Caretakers Program, Center for Earth Ethics, Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (2017-2020). He is also General Coordinator of the Otomi-Toltec Regional Council in Mexico and caretaker of the philosophy and traditions of the Otomi-Toltec peoples, and has been an Otomi-Toltec Ritual Ceremony Officer since 1988. He is consultant with UNESCO around Sacred Sites and Biocultural issues. Mindahi has served as a delegate to various commissions and summits on indigenous rights and sustainability, including the 1992 Earth Summit and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD, 2002).

He has written on the relation between the state and Indigenous Peoples, intercultural education, collective intellectual property rights and associated traditional knowledge, biocultural sacred sites, and other topics.

Kumu Hula, Hawaiian Wisdom Keeper & Cultural Practitioner | Kaua’i, Hawai’i Puna is a shining community figure and is pivotal in supporting numerous programs, events and organizations that celebrate diversity and Hawaiian cultural values. From seed exchanges to surf meets and festivals to sacred ceremonies, Puna brings a gift of ancient Hawaiian wisdom and a family lineage that traces back through many island generations. As one of the founders of Kanuikapono Charter School, in Anahola, Puna delights in her work with the keiki (children) and kumu (teachers). Puna has been involved in spearheading numerous community organizations, and is the former president of both the Canoe Association and the Mokihana and Emmalani Festivals. She was also a founding member of Leadership Kaua‘i and the Kaua‘i Planning and Action Alliance (KPAA) − to name just a few. Puna Kalama embodies a pure, Hawaiian essence and delights in sharing her ancient lineage while infusing the message of aloha from her heart to humanity.

Ilarion (Larry Merculieff) was raised in a traditional Unangan (Aleut) way and received his Unangan name Kuuyux at age four. The name is given to one person in each lifetime amongst his people. Kuuyux means an arm extending out from the body, a carrier of ancient knowledge into modern times, a messenger. Today he is living the legacy of his name.

Merculieff is co-founder and former chairman of the Alaska Indigenous Council on Marine Mammals; former chairman of the Nature Conservancy, Alaska chapter; former co-director of the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, Alaska chapter; as well as co-founder of the International Bering Sea Forum, the Alaska Forum on the Environment, and the Alaska Oceans Network. Merculieff served on the National Research Council Committee on the Bering Sea Ecosystem and presented at numerous scientific conferences. He chaired the Indigenous knowledge sessions (that involved representatives from 80 nations) at the Global Summit of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change, chaired the scientific working group for Snowchange that involved representatives from 8 Arctic nations focused on climate change, and served as the U.S. chair for the 2008 North American Gathering of Indigenous Peoples for the Healing of Mother Earth in Merida, Mexico. Today, Merculieff is a senior advisor to the Wild Foundation, board member of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, co-founder of the Wisdom Weavers of the World (www.wisdomweavers.world ) and President of the Global Center for Indigenous Leadership and Lifeways (www.gcill.world )