Page 28 - ECF_Thrive-Sept-2025

“ And m a y b e
o
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w
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d
a y,
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o n t h e
Alberta, helping lead cultural harvesting workshops
for families at Pigeon Lake. As the only woman on
her team, she began speaking about the roles of
Métis matriarchs — starting with a five-minute talk
that evolved into full webinars.
Her advocacy brought her to Ottawa in 2023 for
the Métis National Council’s Youth Summit. The
connections she made at the summit resulted in an
invitation to help advise the Canada Water Agency
on integrating Indigenous knowledge into the
Canada Water Act. She later joined national water
circles through Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak.
28 Together we thrive
The 2025 BBMA celebration
and sash ceremony is
September 20, 2025,
at the Edmonton Inn and
Conference Center.
Details at bbma.ca
t
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t h g e
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s
n o f L e t e
n d
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c a r r y i n g i t
e
s
,
a l l forw a r d
— Kirsten Letendre
. ”
“It all connects — my great-grandparents,
MacEwan, the BBMAs,” she says. “Now I get to
bring others to the table.”
In spring 2025, Letendre was awarded
the King Charles III Coronation Medal for
her contributions to water stewardship and
Indigenous education — joining a cohort of
mostly Elders and aunties. “I get to live the
dream every single day,” she says. “And maybe
one day, I’ll have the eighth generation of
Letendres growing up on these lands and waters,
carrying it all forward.”