MCC SHOWCASE EVENT: Significance of Summer Solstice for Indigenous Peoples

Welcome to our Summer Solstice, and National Indigenous Peoples Day Showcase Event! Mindfulness Council of Canada introduces our 

Indigenous representatives, along with their compelling biographies. 

ISABELLE TREMBLAY (elle/she/her)

Isabelle Tremblay (elle/she/her) is a registered member of the Première Nation des Pekuakamiulnuatsh.

She has over two decades of experience as a dedicated bilingual federal employee in various capacities within the Government of Canada. Currently working as a Change Management Specialist, her significant roles include working within Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC), demonstrating her commitment to public service and Indigenous issues.

Her journey into mindfulness began in 1996 when she started practicing yoga. This path led her to become a certified yoga teacher in 2014, where she discovered the transformative power of mindfulness in fostering holistic well-being enriching her understanding and application of mindfulness in everyday life. She is deeply committed to advancing wellness and empowerment through mindfulness practices.

Isabelle combines her extensive professional background with her personal journey into mindfulness and wellness, striving to make a positive impact in her community and beyond.

DYLAN JENKINS (They/He)

Omushkego-Anishinaabe - Two-Spirit Knowledge Keeper, and Storyteller.

Jenkins began their journey as a dedicated federal public servant 23 years ago, working in the areas of Indigenous governance and administration, Indigenous economic development, Indigenous community housing, and infrastructure, and Indigenous education, social development and partnerships.

Dylan also served as a faculty member at Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ontario as a Professor of Indigenous Policy and Indigenous Governance. Born and raised in North Bay Ontario (Robinson-Huron Treaty), Dylan’s ancestral lands include Treaty 1, 3, and 5, and is matrilineally connected to York Landing First Nation in Northern Manitoba (Swampy Cree).

Over the past 30 Years, Dylan has been mentored by Elders, Wisdom Keepers and Spiritual Advisors from the Anishinaabe, Omushkego, Haudenosaunee, Tuscarora and Métis Nations. As a Two-Spirit Knowledge Keeper, and Storyteller, Dylan lives by and shares the teachings imparted by their Elders, Teachers, and Guides.

MICHAEL YELLOW BIRD, IMTA CMT-P, MSW, PhDIMTA, CMT-P, MSW, PhD

Dr Yellow Bird is Dean and Professor of the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba. He is an enrolled member of the MHA Nation (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara) in North Dakota, USA.

He is a member of the International Mindfulness Teachers Association and is a certified mindfulness teacher, professional, and has been practicing mindfulness meditation and Indigenous contemplative practices for more than 47 years.

He has held faculty appointments at the University of British Columbia, University of Kansas, Arizona State University, Humboldt State University, and North Dakota State University. His research focuses on the effects of colonization and methods of decolonization, healthy Indigenous peoples’ aging, Arikara ethnobotany and traditional agriculture, Indigenous mindfulness and neurodecolonization, and the cultural significance of Rez dogs.

He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and the co-editor of four books:

• For Indigenous Eyes Only
• The Decolonization Handbook, 2005 (revised in 2012)
• Indigenous Social Work around the World: Towards Culturally Relevant Education and Practice, 2008
• Decolonizing Social Work, 2013.

His mindfulness and neurodecolonization work have been featured in several mind body and mindfulness podcasts, magazines, newspapers, and scholarly publications.

His professional/academic mindfulness and neurodecolonization website can be found at: https://www.indigenousmindfulness.com/

His most recent press article can be found at: https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/health/meaningful-mindfulness-576071502.html

In 2021, his mindfulness teaching and work was featured in Mindful magazine along with three other Indigenous mindfulness teachers: https://www.mindful.org/all-our-relations-four-indigenous-lessons-on-mindfulness/

His most recent podcast interview with the Prison Mindfulness Institute discussing his work using Neurodecolonization with Indigenous Incarcerated youth can be found at: https://prisonmindfulness.podbean.com/e/neurodecolonization-with-indigenous-incarcerated-youth-with-michael-james-yellow-bird/

Dr. Yellow Bird received his mindfulness training through the Prison Mindfulness Institute’s Path of Freedom program and the Engaged Mindfulness Institute’s “Engaged Mindfulness Teacher Training program,” which provides specialized training to professionals supporting individuals in at-risk situations and underserved communities. He is the creator of Siíŝu' tooxuun awi'ooxiik: A Mindfulness Curriculum for Arikara Tribal Youth. In 2023, he co-authored an online Mindful Decolonization training program for foster parents and Indigenous children which is intended to promote reconciliation, cultural safety, compassion, and resilience, between Indigenous children, parents, communities, and settler adoptive parents. He is working on a trauma-informed mindfulness curriculum for family survivors of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). He serves on several national mindfulness and contemplative practices advisory boards, has served as a senior advisor and consultant to BIPOC mindfulness organizations, and is involved in creating a Centre for Mindful Decolonization and Reconciliation (CMDR) in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba.