Elder Mae Louise Campbell, currently approaching her tenth year as an Elder in Residence at Red River College, is among the 20 members of the City of Winnipeg’s newly-struck Mayor’s Indigenous Advisory Circle (MIAC).

Campbell (shown above, with Mayor Brian Bowman) was present at a press conference yesterday in which Bowman officially debuted the new Circle, explaining its members will advise the city on policies aimed at building awareness, bridges and understanding between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities.

“The circle is a symbol of unity,” Bowman said. “To create unity and equality, we must build understanding. Through MIAC, much of the important work building strong bridges in our community will continue.”

Wab Kinew, local broadcaster and Associate Vice-president for Indigenous Relations at the University of Winnipeg, will serve as chair of MIAC.

“I’m looking forward to working with the mayor to advance the project of reconciliation,” Kinew said. “I look forward to ushering in an era when First Nations, Metis and Inuit cultures are celebrated by all Winnipeggers.”

An initiative determined through the hundreds of submissions received through Bowman’s website 1winnipeg.ca, MIAC was created to help “establish a means to educate and create awareness of the rich Aboriginal culture, people and heritage that are at the roots of the city and nation,” according to a city press release.

The group will meet four times a year; its first meeting is scheduled for Sept. 17 to coincide with an anti-racism summit being hosted at — and in partnership with — the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

The full list of MIAC’s members includes:

• Brian Bowman, Mayor (Ex Officio)
• Wab Kinew, Chair, Associate Vice-President for Indigenous Relations at the University of Winnipeg
• Councillor Cindy Gilroy, Chair, Citizens Equity Committee
• Harry Bone, Elder
• Mae Louise Campbell, Elder
• Esther Ducharme, Elder
• Marcia Anderson-Decoteau
• Jessica Dumas, Owner and Founder of Prime Image Life Coaching
• EJ Fontaine, President/CEO and founding partner of Anishinabek Consultants Inc.
• Damon Johnston, President, Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg
• Kimberley Puhach, Consultant, Leaders and Co
• Dee Thomas-Hart, university student, youth representative, Aboriginal Chamber of Commerce
• Manley A. Begay Jr. co-director of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic
• Development at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
• Cindy Blackstock, Executive Director, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and Associate Professor, University of Alberta.
• Alan Greyeyes, Aboriginal Music Development Manager for Manitoba Music, Chair, Aboriginal Music Manitoba
• Chief Robert Louie, Chief, Westbank First Nation
• Sean McCormick, CEO and Founder, Manitobah Mukluks
• Justice Murray Sinclair, Commissioner, Truth and Reconciliation Commission
• Kerri Tattuinee, university student
• Jamie Wilson, Commissioner, Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba