Reneé Carriere is a mom, kokum, land-based educator, paddler, fisher, trapper, and learner of the Cree language. She home-schooled her three children from Grade one through to Grade eleven, all from her remote traditional trapline home, situated in the Saskatchewan River Delta.

Reneé currently teaches high school sciences for Charlebois Community School in Cumberland House, Saskatchewan. Renee holds a B.Ed. and M.Ed. and has specialized in Environmental Education. She is a champion for the Saskatchewan River Delta. She was the 2019 McDowell Foundation award winner for her research and writing of Muskrats and Fire. Renee continues to advocate for Indigenous skills, ethics, and knowledge to lead Saskatchewan curriculum.

Mika Carriere is a First Nations high school teacher at Charlebois Community School in Cumberland House, Saskatchewan. The vision for Northern Lights School Division is “Mino-pimatisiwin,” a Cree phrase meaning “Living a good life” and it inspires educators to teach from the heart. Shaped by the history of the Swampy Cree people in the Saskatchewan River Delta, Carriere has channeled the teachings of the land, culture and language and used them as part of her educational pedagogy.

Lived experiences such as hunting, trapping, fishing and dog sledding have led Carriere into gaining valuable Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) that helped her earn a diploma in Resource & Environmental Law. Early in her career she worked with the Prince Albert Model Forest (PAMF) as a Projects Officer and followed their Cree motto of “Ma ma wechehitowin” ~ “Learning together and helping each other.” In an effort to carry on the language and culture of her people, her goal is to revitalize the Swampy Cree language as a high school Cree teacher and also as a student enrolled in the Indigenous Languages program with the University of Saskatchewan.

Naomi Carriere is a member of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and originally from Cumberland House, Saskatchewan. She currently works at the University of Saskatchewan as the Indigenous Research Specialist with the Office of the Vice-President – Research. Naomi received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biology from the University of Saskatchewan and enjoys research projects that focus on the nexus of environment and community.

Naomi was employed at the Lac La Ronge Indian Band as the Consultation Coordinator for several years and prior to this worked as a Biology Instructor at NORTEP in La Ronge.