Meet the team
Sîpihkopiyesiw / Colleen Hele Cardinal
Sîpihkopiyesiw/Colleen Hele Cardinal is nehiyaw iskwew (Plains Cree) from Saddle Lake Cree Nation, AB but was adopted and raised in Sault Ste Marie ON. She is a community organizer, social justice advocate, student, author and kokum. Her work includes organizing six national 60s scoop gatherings in Ontario, raising the issue of the 60's scoop at an international level to the displacement and loss of identity survivors have experienced. Colleen also speaks publicly and candidly about MMIW2SG and the impacts of the 60’s Scoop drawing critical connections between colonial child welfare removal policies and her lived experiences and those of women in her family. Colleen continues to volunteer with several initiatives, including Families of Sisters in Spirit, Blackbird Medicines and the Nobel Women’s Initiative Sister to Sister Mentorship program to address gender-based violence, while giving context on the making of Canada, treaty relationships and the dehumanization of Indigenous people through policy and media. She is the author of the Ohpikiihaakan-ohpihmeh (Raised somewhere else): A 60s Scoop Adoptee’s Story of Coming Home as well as spear-heading the GIS mapping initiative Mapping the 60s Scoop Diaspora, and being awarded the Ontario Premier's Award for Outstanding Community Service. Currently Colleen is a Trauma Informed Resolution Health Support worker and Lead Facilitator for the Sixties Scoop Network / Edbendaagzijiig (e dben daag zi jig)
Elaine Kicknosway (Bio-Qwe/she)
Leroy Bennett
Leroy Bennett is a Cultural Consultant and Ceremony Facilitator who works on local and international levels. The Sagamok Anishnawbek member is part of the cultural resurgence movement, which he says is both challenging and rewarding in Nation-building endeavors. Building relationships at multi-national levels has given Leroy insight into how to maintain the integrity of Anishinaabek values and teachings without compromise. This is the main-stay of progress and has lent clarity to his experiences. Leroy’s front-line experiences has enabled him to work with genuine compassion and understanding. Anishinawbe teachings have created the foundation for his work as a policy analyst and developer. Leroy is a Cultural Advisor and Ceremonial Leader for the Sixties Scoop Network, Amnesty International, Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Case, Robinson Huron Waawiindamaagewin, National 60’s Scoop Foundation, Argyle Communication Company and his community.
Priscila Tayná
Priscila is the project manager with over five years of experience in Indigenous research and project coordination. Priscila is Amazonian from Abaetetuba, Pará, Brazil and is currently pursuing her MSc in Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba.
Elaine Kicknosway is co-founder of The Sixties Scoop Network since its inception in 2014. She is Swampy Cree through her biological mother and her biological father’s side is from Buffalo Narrows. She is a member of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in Northern Saskatchewan and is Wolf Clan. She is a Sixties Scoop Survivor and returned home in 1996 when she was in her late 20s. She has been a long-time community advocate in the areas of child welfare, MMIW2SG, healthy families, and Indigenous Wellness. Elaine is an Indigenous trauma-informed Counsellor, Blanket exercise facilitator and trainer, Indigenous full spectrum doula, Indigenous Death Doula, Traditional dancer, singer, drummer and a helper to many. She continues to volunteer as a knowledge keeper for Blackbird Medicines & Families of Sisters in Spirit.