Land Based Cultural Revitalization

Meet 6 of our Lead Youth


Kiara Genereux
- Kiara/Eagle Eyes is of Scottish, Odawa and Potawatomi Descent and was born and raised in Tkaronto. She has always had roots in Sheshegwaning First Nation located on Manitoulin Island and decided to take the leap and move back to her home community. She is currently a youth (25) working at the band office and as an Economic Development Assistant, which is how she was able to come across this grant and has been doing a lot of work towards food security and food sovereignty this past year by starting up a Farmers’ Market and making connections to growers across the Island. Revitalizing our traditional ways is a big dream of hers and she has an interest in reintegrating medicines and traditional foods back into our communities and ecosystems. Kiara went to Chef School in Tkaronto and has over 7 years’ experience in the industry where she had the opportunity to work for some of the best Indigenous Chefs in Tkaronto which sparked her interest in traditional foods and cooking. Kiara will oversee communications on the project, lead the medicine and Traditional food garden and everything to do with food security and sovereignty.


Kaitlynn Tomaselli - Kaitlynn Tomaselli or Odemin Kwe/Strawberry Woman (23) is of Anishinaabe (Odawa and Potawatomi) and Italian descent from Mnidoo Mnising (Manitoulin Island). She is a graduate from Seneca College’s Acting from Camera and Voice program in 2017. Since graduation, she has worked with Native Earth Performing Arts, The Sudbury Theater Centre, and is currently working at imagineNATIVE as the Program Manager. At imagineNATIVE, she helps facilitate the year-long programming and is currently working on an initiative that supports youth. She has taken part in many community-oriented programming around the City of Toronto, such as joining the youth council ENAGB Indigenous Youth Agency and the Native Child Youth Advisory. Community building is a big part of her life, and she is passionate to connect youth with creative opportunities. Kaitlynn will be taking charge of us learning how to plan a powwow, and in charge of communications alongside Kiara. 


Caeley Genereux - Caeley (21) or Ozawa Giniw Kwe/Yellow (Golden) Eagle Woman is a bisexual Anishinaabe and Scottish female born and raised in Tkaronto but from Sheshegwaning First Nation and Scotland. She is a passionate activist who believes in equity among all beings in Creation and is about to graduate with her Honours Bachelor of Science Specializing in Mental Health and Minoring in Sociology. She has experience in research and facilitation and has worked with the younger and Elder populations on our reserve. She is incredibly passionate about the importance of building emotional regulation skills and healthier coping mechanisms to identify, acknowledge, feel, express and communicate these emotions to ourselves and others (for example, she uses art and literature in this way to help her with intense emotions on her healing journey). Her ultimate goal and dream is to help our people heal from intergenerational trauma and break the toxic cycles of abuse and addiction infecting our communities with the reintegration of our culture into the very foundation of accessible, consistent, and affordable (if not completely funded) mental health services / resources. She is also empowered by her sobriety (besides sugar and caffeine) that she's maintained her entire life, making her passionate about maintaining traditional and respectful protocol when it comes to our cultural practices. Caeley will be leading the Ceremonies, Art Revitalization projects, and will be reporting back to the Foundation.


Gwenyth McLeod - Gwenyth is an 18-year-old Odawa/Ojibway woman from Sheshegwaning First Nation. Both of her parents are from Sheshegwaning and most of her life has been spent living here so far. Currently she lives and works at the Rink here in Sheshegwaning but in September she will be attending school at Cambrian College. Gwenyth worked alongside Caeley this summer in researching the history of Sheshegwaning and our Elders. Her family also has their own maple syrup harvest every year as well as an annual Moose Hunt off reserve. Gwenyth will be in charge of Funds, and she will be leading the Maple Syrup and the Moose Hunt Camp. 


Curtis Endanawas - Curtis Endanawas/Little Bear (24) was born and raised in Sheshegwaning First Nation. He has lived in the community for most of his life, but he did move back and forth from his Father’s in M’chigeeng to his Mother’s in Sheshegwaning. He now lives and works in Sheshegwaning full time running an afterschool program with Right To Play. When he was growing up in Sheshegwaning he was a part of a youth group, so he has experience running a successful youth group. He is an advocate for land-based learning and has his trappers license but doesn’t do much with it due to the cost of trapping equipment. Curtis strongly believes that the new generations of Sheshegwaning should be learning more of our traditional ways and are here to make that change. Curtis will lead Land based learning alongside Luke on everything from medicine walks, to trapping, to canoe and kayak trips, and more.


Luke Wabegijik - Luke/Gaghek (21) was born and raised in SFN, he was raised with the knowledge of his father who was a skilled hunter, trapper, and fisher. Some of Luke’s many skills include baiting deer, tracking deer, what deer eat, what to look for to find beaver, how to build snares, where to place them and snare wild animals, how to skin, butcher and store wild meat, how to cook beaver and their tails, where and how to harvest seagull eggs, fishing, netting and ice fishing; how to know where fish are during the seasons. He has also been singing with the local drum group Chi-Geezis since he was 10 years old and has been going to powwows since he was a child. Luke will lead the Land based learning alongside Curtis on everything from medicine walks, to trapping, to canoe and kayak trips, and more.