Team

Heather Watts is Mohawk & Anishinaabe from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. Education has been a central part of her work over the past ten years, graduating from Syracuse University with a degree… Read More

Melissa Hammell is a Certified Integral Facilitator® and community connector with over 20 years of experience working with urban Indigenous communities. Melissa seeks to honour her Anishinaabe (Kitigan Zibi) and European roots by bringing voices… Read More

Ray is a member of the Sagamok Anishnabek First Nation who are a signatory to the Robinson-Huron Treaty of 1850. He has 35 years of Federal Public Service having worked with various federal departments, the… Read More

Danielle is French-Canadian with Haudenosaunee ancestry from Iroquois Falls in Northern Ontario.  She moved to Ottawa for her post-secondary education in 2014 and has since been on a continuous journey working alongside the Indigenous community… Read More

Charlotte Qamaniq is a North Baffin Inuk performance artist, actor, throat singer, and public speaker. Originally from Iglulik, Nunavut, she has worked with First Peoples Group since 2015 to deliver cultural competency workshops that draw… Read More

Hannah Martin (Mi’kmaq Nation) grew up in the beautiful coastal Taqamiku’jk (Tatamagouche/place where the water is barred by sand) and is a proud member of We’kopekwitk (Millbrook) First Nation. In 2019, Hannah received her Bachelor… Read More

Ally Freedman is a young Métis woman with strong roots in Northern Manitoba/Saskatchewan. She also has Italian and Jewish heritage. She has a BA Honours in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations from… Read More

Chair and Founding Partner of the First Peoples Group, Guy Freedman is an entrepreneurial leader and thought leader on contemporary Indigenous issues. Guy is a proud Half-Breed (Métis) from Flin Flon, Manitoba with roots dating… Read More

Fred Kelly is a citizen of the Ojibways of Onigaming, a community of the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3. Kizhebowse Mukwaa (Kind Walking Bear) of the Lynx Clan is an Elder in Midewin, the Sacred… Read More

Robert (Bob) Watts is a much sought after trainer and expert in Indigenous policy, negotiations, conflict resolution and reconciliation. He is the former Interim Executive Director of the Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which examined… Read More

Velma McColl is delighted to join First Peoples Group as a strategy advisor during a time of growth and opportunity. A Westerner with more than 20 years in Ottawa, Velma is committed to resilience in all things.… Read More