Amanda L. Kennedy is a Haudenosaunee Woman Leader and Indigenous Social Innovator from the Oneida Nation of the Thames. She is Iroquois, bear clan and her Spirit name is Kuwahs^naha:wi that means “in her name they carry” in the On^yota’a:ka (Oneida) language.
Amanda is the daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter of residential school victims and survivors and a colonized, urbanized, marginalized child and youth of yesterday that grew up in the troubled neighbourhood Manor Park in London, ON. As a youth Amanda became a leader, mentor, advocate, facilitator, coordinator and developer of Indigenous children and youth camps, workshops, committees, conferences and worked in the Social and Administration/Finance fields and as a Teacher for marginalized, Indigenous youth and adult learners.
Ann Marie Proulx is Anishinabe – Ojibwe & Potawatomi from Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation and Oneida Nation of the Thames and Green bay- Oneida Wisconsin. She belongs to The Thunderbird Clan on her Ojibwe side and The Turtle Clan people of Oneida also known as People of the Standing Stone. Ann Marie is water protector as well as a water walker, she believes in the importance of honoring the water by bringing awareness. Ann Marie was raised with her traditional teachings to sweat lodge ceremony, pow wow way of life, pipe ceremony, fasting ceremony and sunrise ceremony way of life. She is a well-known champion Jingle dress dancer in southern Ontario pow wow trail. Ann Marie believes in her Anishinabe Seven Grandfather Teachings: Bravery, Humility, Truth, Love, Wisdom, Respect, and Honesty.
Ann Marie has recently graduate with honors for her Social Service Worker with Indigenous Knowledge Diploma 2019.
