Governance

LodgePole Arts Alliance is a not-for-profit corporation with charitable status. We operate on a cooperative operational board model that incorporates an Indigenous lens and worldview, with decisions being made by consensus without a hierarchical structure. All voices have a say. All Indigenous voices have a vote.

The Grand Council (board of directors) coordinates the LPAA and ensures that our priorities are met by volunteering their time in programming, land acquisitions, finances, etc. They are supported by an Executive Director and Communications Associate (both paid positions) and a diverse range of Indigenous and non-Indigenous volunteers who help with some of the operational tasks. With the ability to hire committed staff, the Grand Council will now engage in a shift from an operational to a cooperative management model. The Grand Council will see oversee the inner workings of each of our 4 priority bundles.

  • Land: infrastructure and building
  • Storytelling: programming and events
  • Pouch: finances and funding grants
  • Smoke: communications, marketing, and promotion

Grand Council

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Harmony Johnson-Harder 
Feather Carrier

Harmony Johnson-Harder is a storyteller, artist, and creative visionary inspired by the land, her grandmother, her father, and Woodland culture.  Harmony’s work celebrates culture, connection, and shared humanity.

A multidisciplinary artist, her modern beadwork, mixed-media painting, and 3D art combine traditional Indigenous techniques with experimental materials. Her storytelling workshops inspire curiosity and connection, creating spaces where participants explore themes of land, symbolism, and ancestry.

Harmony participates as a mentee through CARFAC SK Art Writing Mentorship Program and also has written for Vacation Land News,  A local newsletter. She is a producer and writer for Stories of the North, which was nominated for an award at the Yorkton Film Festival in 2023 and 24. She is currently collaborating with the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine on research projects exploring House, Home, and mental health interventions in First Nations communities. Harmony has served as a traveling storyteller, and has led numerous arts and storytelling workshops in local and Northern communities. She was also a presenter at The Art of Visiting, an artist gathering in Kingston, Ontario.

Inspired by her father’s book The Power of Story by Harold Johnson, Harmony is passionate about the arts, culture, and sharing that passion to inspire others to transform their own stories. Through her work, she embodies the transformative power of creativity and connection, while continuing to grow and develop her own artistic practice.

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Kaytlyn Nadjiwon (née Giaccone)
Carrier of Understanding (Secretary)

Kaytlyn Nadjiwon (née Giaccone) (she/her) is a queer multidisciplinary artist interested in various media, including beadwork, visual art, poetry, prose, collage, etc. Kaytlyn was born and raised in Ottawa on unceded, unsurrendered Algonquin territory to her Ojibwe mother (a member of Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, Neyaashiinigmiing) and her settler father (of Italian, Ukrainian, and French descent). Her academic and professional background includes an Honours BA in English Literature & decades of experience in small business operations, management, and customer service. She is currently focused on Soft But Sturdy Beadwork, her business selling her handmade beaded jewelry, accessories, and art. She also facilitates beading workshops at sliding scale pricing, and creates opportunities for urban Indigenous folks to connect with community in accessible spaces.

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Dr. Paul Chaput
Knowledge Holder

Dr. Paul Chaput is a Métis academic, actor, singer, composer, filmmaker, and poet. In November 2015 he completed his PhD in geography at Queen’s University. His dissertation, “Planting Stories, Feeding Communities: Knowledge, Indigenous Peoples, and Film,” used film as a research tool to bring academic findings back to Indigenous communities. Two CDs of his original compositions were nominated at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards for Best Male Vocalist and Best Folk Album. Paul is one of four founding members of the Métis Nation of Ontario and the conceptual architect of its long-term visionary Prime Purpose. Paul was a founder and the artistic director for the first three years of the Métis Arts Festival in Toronto. Paul has co-produced, hosted, and narrated — in French and English — 26 episodes of “Finding Our Talk: A Journey Through Aboriginal Languages” that aired on Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN).

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Rhonda Kronyk
Pouch Holder (Treasurer)

Rhonda Kronyk is a member of the Tsay Keh Dene Nation of northern BC. She is also of settler (English, Irish, German, Ukrainian) descent. Rhonda is a founding member of the Indigenous Editors Association. As an editor, she works from within the Canadian publishing industry to ensure the respectful representation of Indigenous peoples in published work. She uses the lens of cultural awareness as a consultant who works in heritage and on equity, diversity, and inclusivity initiatives.

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Al Doxtator
Knowledge Holder

Te howis kwûnt (Allen Doxtator) originates from Oneida First Nation of the Thames near London, Ontario, and is a member of the Bear Clan. He brings more than 45 years of experience as a social worker and in related fields to his role at Queen’s.

Philip Jonah Logan Geller
Councillor

Philip Jonah Logan Geller (they/them|he/him) is Jewish (Ashkenazi) and Red River Michif (Métis) with Logan, Dupuis, Vandal ancestors, and roots to the historic Métis community of Rooster Town. Philip is currently based in Winnipeg/Wînipêk (Treaty 1).

They are a theatre/performance artist, educator, and scholar who is focused on decolonizing their process by listening to and dialoguing with ancestral and cultural knowledge. Their practice includes trickster methodologies, land-based creation, circular storytelling, and destabilizing hierarchical power structures in the rehearsal process, with a focus on anti-oppressive/anti-racist modalities. They are a SSHRC funded Master of Fine Arts Directing graduate from York University, a top 30 under 30 York University Alumni, and a Ken McDougall Award recipient for promising emerging director. Philip is currently Co-Artistic Producer for Kiyanaan Indigenous Theatre Festival and the Associate Producer for #ReconcileThis at the National Arts Centre.

As a storyteller they have worked across Turtle Island as an actor, director, dramaturg, producer, clown, creator, and community worker with companies and festivals including Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Native Earth Performing Arts, Indigenous Arts Knowledge Exchange, Stratford Festival, Theatre YES, Gwaandak Theatre, Toronto Metropolitan University,  Centre for Indigenous Theatre, Made in Exile, Citadel Theatre, Nextfest, Play the Fool Festival, Edmonton Fringe Festival, and Paprika Theatre Festival. They are a graduate of the BFA Acting Program at the University of Alberta. Although, more importantly, they learn from all the incredible relations – human and more than human – they have the fortune of visiting with.

Staff

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Terri-Lynn Brennan
Executive Director

As an inter-cultural planner, Dr. Terri-Lynn Brennan combines a 30-year professional career in the social sciences, from anthropology to public policy, with national to global experiences living and working on four continents and across 12 countries. With a lens rooted in social equity, Terri currently services clients as a consultant through her company, Inclusive Voices Incorporated, and holds the position of Executive Director for the Indigenous charitable not-for-profit LodgePole Arts Alliance, of which she is a founding member. Terri holds a national role as a sector trainer for the Cultural Human Resource Council of Canada in Maintaining Respectful Workplaces in the Arts, while continuing to support various cities and municipalities across Canada in their development of Cultural Plans, Public Art Plans and building Indigenous relationships based in reciprocity. Terri proudly identifies as mixed, Ohnkwehon:we/Kanien’kehá:ka/ Skaru:reʔ (Original Peoples/Mohawk/Tuscarora) and British, descent where her people come from Six Nations of the Grand River, Ireland and England. She currently lives on her ancestral land within the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Covenant Treaty on Wolfe Island in Ontario with her partner, ornithologist Mark Read and their Portuguese water dogs Higgs & Gauge Boson’s.

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Danielle Marshall
Communications Associate

Danielle Marshall has over 15 years of experience in the non-profit and cultural heritage sectors, specializing in grant writing, strategic planning, and community engagement. She has successfully secured funding for a variety of initiatives, including developing multi-year strategic plans, designing inclusive programs, and building partnerships with diverse stakeholders. At the Smiths Falls Heritage House Museum, Danielle led a 5-year strategic planning process and obtained funding to support new projects and organizational growth.

Danielle’s expertise also includes managing large-scale collection inventories, overseeing digitization projects, and securing grants. She holds a BA (Honours) in Classical Studies and an MA in Museum Studies, and is passionate about advancing equitable access to arts, culture, and history.