Amethyst First Rider is a member of the Kainai Nation, Blackfoot Confederacy, Alberta, Canada. She is a leader in the performing arts community and is known for co-conceiving Iniskim, an immersive puppet lantern performance celebrating the Buffalo. This project led to the creation of Iniskim – Return of the Buffalo, a documentary film which follows the production of the puppet lantern performance. The film made its world premier at the 2024 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. She is central to the development and success of The Buffalo Treaty and is passionate about tea, plants and food sovereignty, and all my relations.

Katira Crow Shoe is a member of the Kainai Nation of the Blackfoot Confederacy and is part of the Akai'pookaiksi (Many Children) Clan. Katira grew up on the Blood Reserve in Southern Alberta and has eleven years counselling experience working in schools on reserve and off reserve. Katira incorporated Blackfoot language, values, customs, and traditions into her counselling practice but weaves these into personal relationships as well. Katira has a combined BA in Psychology and Native American Studies, Master of Education and a BSW. She is passionate about advocating for the land, plants, animals and Blackfoot culture and helping others understand how they are part of our holistic well-being. In her free time Katira loves being with her family on the land and instilling Blackfoot Ways of Life in her children.

Julian is a member of the Kainai Nation of the Blackfoot Confederacy. He is a lawyer licensed to practice law in both Canada and the United States and serves as the Institute’s General Counsel. Previously, he worked in the private sector in Washington, D.C. where his practice focused on complex litigation and providing strategic advice to businesses, tribal governments, and individuals navigating legal, political, and policy challenges. His work involved matters specifically related to the Buffalo Treaty. While a student at Harvard Law School, Julian conducted research on the concept of Buffalo as legal persons. He also previously served as a Crown Prosecutor for the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service. During his free time, Julian enjoys staying active, fly-fishing, and spending time with family.

Camina is a member of the Kainai Nation and part of the Many Children clan. Her academic background is archaeology, geography, and anthropology. In her 16-year career, Camina has had the privilege of spending countless hours sitting with Elders and learning from story. Some of this came through her experience of working at two UNESCO world heritage sites, Writing-on-Stone/Aisinai’pi and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. She enjoys being on the land with her children and bringing them to visit sacred and significant Blackfoot sites such as these ones. Currently, she lives on the Blood Reserve with her family and enjoys looking at the Rocky Mountains every day.

Cody is a buffalo caretaker, born and raised in Blackfoot Territory in Southern Alberta. He grew up on a farm near Áísínai'pi, Writing-On-Stone, where he developed a deep appreciation for the prairie landscapes and indigenous cultures. He is of Northern Métis descent.

Cody became fascinated by buffalo after reading Wes Olson's book "Portraits of the Bison" and vowed to spend his life working with these animals. He started Sweetgrass Bison in 2014, providing grass-fed bison meat to the local community and has since gone on to manage 6 distinct buffalo herds across 15,000 acres in Southern Alberta and Central Texas, while supporting others across North America through his consulting work.

Cody is thrilled to support nations in the rematriation of the buffalo to revive culture, landscapes and the human spirit.

He lives with his wife and two sons in the Foothills of the Rockies near Pincher Creek, AB

Jade Tootoosis is nehiyaw (Plains Cree) from the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Treaty 6 Territory and is also a member of the Rocky Boy Chippewa Cree Nation in Montana. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Native Studies and a certificate in Indigenous Governance & Partnership from the University of Alberta.

Jade has worked extensively in the areas of education, Indigenous justice advocacy and public relations. She is passionate about amplifying the voices & knowledge of Indigenous peoples and nations for generational healing, safety and growth.

Aikinohkohtsimaaki is a Niitsitapi from the lone fighters clan who grew up in the Kainai Nation which is located in the Treaty 7 territory. Her background of study is Education and Language Revitalization. She is constantly learning from her peers, elders and knowledge keepers from her community. She loves spending time with her family, going on hikes, fishing and playing golf.

Dr. Leroy Little Bear is member of the Kainai Tribe of the Blackfoot Confederacy in Alberta, a renowned indigenous scholar, lawyer, and thinker and a member of the Order of Canada. Little Bear is a leading force behind the Buffalo Treaty amongst First Nations of Canada and US Tribes.

Dr. Tasha Hubbard is an award-winning Cree filmmaker and an associate professor in the Faculty of Native Studies/Department of English and Film at the University of Alberta. She is from Peepeekisis First Nation in Treaty Four Territory and has ties to Thunderchild First Nation in Treaty Six Territory. She is also the mother of a fifteen-year-old son. Both her film work and her research chronicles Indigenous efforts to rematriate the buffalo, and she has been a supporter of the Buffalo Treaty since 2015.

Kyra Northwest is from the Montana First Nation (Akamihk), which is one of the four Maskwacîs Cree Nations. She currently works for the Samson Cree Nation (Nipisihkopahk) as the Traditional Land Use Lead and she sits on the Samson Cree Nation's Nipiy Committee. Kyra's engagement with the Buffalo Treaty began through ceremony to re-introduce the buffalo to Banff National Park.

Marie-Eve Marchand grew up in Lac-St-Jean, Quebec and calls the mountains of Banff home. She successfully coordinated the movement Bison Belong to bring the plains bison back to Banff National Park and has supported the Buffalo Treaty since its first signing.

She is an active member of IUCN WCPA and SSC-Bison Specialist group, Chair the first group of experts to implement the IUCN Green List in Quebec to improve the quality of protected and conserved area and has received the Golden Leaf Award for her contribution to protect the last undamned river in Southern Quebec, the Dumoine River. She is a founding member of the Institute.

Glenda Abbott is nehiyaw-Plains Cree from Pelican Lake First Nation, Saskatchewan in Treaty 6 Territory, Canada. She is a mother and grandmother who has dedicated much of her time learning from knowledge keepers to revitalize and reclaim Indigenous knowledge systems throughout North America and several other countries. Her work focuses on indigenous-led community projects and cultural revitalization initiatives related to Indigenous midwifery/doula, women’s teachings, traditional medicine, ethnobotany- food sovereignty, Indigenous holistic wellness, and land-based education curriculum development.

Dr. Gina Starblanket is an Associate Professor in the School of Indigenous Governance at the University of Victoria. She is Cree/Saulteaux and a member of the Star Blanket Cree Nation in Treaty 4. Dr. Starblanket studies Indigenous-settler political relations with a specific focus on Indigenous politics in the prairies, the politics of treaty implementation, and Indigenous movements towards social and political transformation. She is the co-author of a forthcoming co-authored article in Wicazo Sa Review entitled "Awakening Buffalo Consciousness: Lessons, Theory and Practice from the Buffalo Treaty," and has written on matters of treaty implementation and social and political change in many academic and public-facing venues.

Dr. Starblanket is the author of important sole and co-authored interventions theorizing relational responsibilities to the land, including Storying Violence: Unravelling Colonial Narratives in the Stanley Trial (ARP Press, 2020), and 5th edition of Visions of the Heart: Issues Involving Indigenous Peoples in Canada. She is also in the final stages of editing Making Space for Indigenous Feminisms, 3rd ed. (Fernwood Press, 2024).