Make your favourite hot drink, find a quiet corner, and read through these materials ahead of the session. 

Frances Abele (she/her) is Chancellor’s Professor Emerita of Public Policy and Administration, Senior Research Fellow of the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation, Faculty Associate of the Centre for European Studies, and Research Fellow at the Broadbent Institute. Dr. Abele is co-director with Satsan Herb George of the Rebuilding First Nations Governance project, and a founder of the Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Policy and Administration. During 1992-96, she was seconded to the research directorate at the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, where she was responsible for research and policy on the North and some of the Commission’s work on governance. A political scientist born in Alberta, Dr. Abele has worked with Indigenous peoples all over Canada and in some parts of the circumpolar Arctic. Her research has focused on northern economic and political development, Indigenous-Canada relations, self-government, policy and programs important to Aboriginal people living in cities, policy and program evaluation, qualitative research and citizen engagement. Besides her academic publications, Abele has published research reports with the National Centre for First Nations Governance, Canadian Policy Research Networks, the Institute for Research on Public Policy, the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and the Institute of Public Administration of Canada. 

Frances' Contact Details:

Email: francesabele@gmail.com

Abram Benedict (he/him) is a lifetime resident of Kawehno:ke (Cornwall Island) and is serving his third term as Grand Chief. During his two-term as Grand Chief, Abram lead a dynamic 12 member Council that focused on building stronger relationships, creating new opportunities and raising the positive profile of his community. During his eight years as Grand Chief, Abram and his Council brought to a conclusion two large land claims worth over $284 million, among many other new and expanding initiatives for Akwesasne.

He had previously served three terms as District Chief of Kawehno:ke. Within that capacity, he served as Portfolio Chairman for social services and housing and was Portfolio Co-Chair for education. 

Before Grand Chief Abram’s terms on Council, his work experience was in the private business sector, and he attended Algonquin College. Grand Chief Abram Benedict also served as a volunteer board member as the Aboriginal Representative to the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies (OACAS) board, a member-based agency representing the 47 CAS’s in Ontario, including the 9 Aboriginal Agencies. Abram was a governor for St. Lawrence College where he concluded six-year tenure in 2023 as the Chair of the College Board. In addition, he is a former board member of Cornwall Community Hospital.

Grand Chief's Contact Details: 

Email: ahbenedict@gmail.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abram-benedict-80b316b2/

Twitter: @AbramBenedict

Miriam Jorgensen (she/her), a settler scholar, is a Senior Researcher at the University of Arizona Native Nations Institute. She holds the additional titles of Research Scientist at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, Affiliate Faculty at the James E. Rogers College of Law, and Affiliate Faculty in the Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona. Her work—in the United States, Canada, and Australia—has addressed housing, law enforcement and justice, natural resource management, cultural stewardship, digital inclusion, enterprise management, financial education, child welfare, and Indigenous governance more generally. She is co-founder of the University of Arizona Indigenous Governance program; has held visiting positions in law, social work, public policy, and Indigenous research; and is an author and editor of numerous articles and books, including Rebuilding Native Nations: Strategies for Governance and Development (University of Arizona Press 2007) and Creating Private Sector Economies in Native America: Sustainable Development through Entrepreneurship (Cambridge University Press 2019). She holds a BA in economics and mathematics from Swarthmore College; MA in human sciences from the University of Oxford, and both an MPP in international development and a PhD in political economics from Harvard University.

Miriam's Contact Details:

Email:mjorgens@arizona.edu

This will be updated after the session.