Banff Centre’s Application, Student Registration and Payment Systems, including the Student Portal, will be unavailable from 4pm Tuesday Nov. 5th to 12 noon Wednesday Nov. 6th due to planned maintenance. Any questions please contact admissions@banffcentre.ca.
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Indigenous peoples are nation building, and this is a time of great planetary and social change. Women must stand tall, stand strong, and re-member the ‘why’ of their lives. This program will bring leaders travelling on diverse pathways together to share and revitalize their inner knowing, renew hopes and dreams, and call forth new visions for the future.
It is about deep listening, deep learning, and letting go, while expanding feminine wisdom and Ancestral knowledges within a sacred circle.
There will be time to reacquaint yourself with your inner essence, rediscover respite, reset your inner beliefs, and celebrate your successes. You will learn to mine your life for the diamonds, and shift challenging experiences into shining gifts of courage, vision, and inner peace. Visit with us to reawaken your authentic leadership gifts, and re-discover what you need to thrive, while living holistically into responsibilities, inherent wellbeing, and abundance.
Supported by the guidance of Elders, share traditional and spiritual wisdom, while grounding in land-based learning, culture, and ceremony. This program fulfills the requirements for the Certificate of Indigenous Leadership, Governance, and Management Excellence.
Applicants must be ages 18+ at the time of the program start date.
This program prioritizes Indigenous learners, and those working for Indigenous communities and organizations. Programs are filled on a first come, first served basis. Please register early to secure a confirmation of your spot.
The Certificate of Indigenous Leadership, Governance and Management Excellence awarded to individuals who recognize the importance of continuing education and have successfully completed a total of seven programs. The programs are strategically focused on building your capacity to assist your community and organization to successfully move forward into the era of self-determination and successful community economic development. All Intermediate offerings are counted towards the certificate, while Introductory programs do not. Learn more about what courses you require in order to achieve your certificate, here.
To maximize learning for this program, students are required to dedicate approximately 40 hours during the week to this program.
Alice Kaquitts is a proud member of the Stoney Nakoda Wesley First Nation. Alice is a respected elder and community leader in the Stoney Nakoda nation and is the daughter of Alice Kaquitts Sr. and Thomas Simeon, and great-granddaughter of renowned Chief Hector Crawler.
Alice grew up in a traditional way of life where Nakoda language, culture and protocols were taught and followed. Alice’s formal education includes a diploma from Mount Royal College and a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Calgary. Alice has been working within the Stoney Nakoda Nation in senior level positions for over 20 years.
Alice is a healthy, proud grandmother to 5 beautiful grandchildren and mother to two adult sons, and enjoys passing on her traditional knowledge and teachings to the future generations.
Marilyn Poitras is Michif Irish from the prairies and has been a lawyer, a law professor, a writer, a film producer, a negotiator, a facilitator, a public speaker, a National Inquiry Commissioner and social systems redesigner. She is a student of Indigenous legal traditions and has worked on ancestral domain or Indigenous land as a source of law for much of her career. She teaches and learns with Elders across the country to earn an understanding of traditional law. Her expertise reaches into constitutional and aboriginal law as well as negotiation. She has researched and lectured on mental health, on design thinking and on story.
Marilyn received her law degree from the University of Saskatchewan and her masters in law from Harvard Law School. She has worked with many traditional teachers, including Cree, Dene, Saulteaux, Michif and Inuit. She works within community to create discuss and design opportunities for Indigenous participation in the Canadian politic, in rural and urban issues and on inclusion of Indigenous voice, philosophy and laws in as many places as possible.
Erin (Gizhagatte, Ashati Sakahikan) belongs to the crystalline waters of Benessai Ochininissing, Skeleton Lake in the traditional lands of the Three Fires of the Anishinabek - Ojibway, Potawatomi and Odawa Peoples in Ontario, Canada. Erin walks with vision, and all of life as mind, bridging worlds and reweaving pathways towards what is possible and the essence of what is being called to life. She is woven through Reconciliation Canada as the Director of Knowledge and Indigenous Leadership in fields of collective transformation; lead faculty for Indigenous Leadership at the Banff Centre [Wise Practices for Indigneous Leaders and Truth and Reconciliation through Right Relations]; assistant professor in the Global Leadership MA at Royal Roads University, convenor of Indigneous Leadership within the International Leadership Association, firekeeper for the World Ethic Forum. Erin is involved with many efforts of planetary health from Skeleton Lake, to the artistry of community weaving with the Together Insitute, and life promotion through Feather Carriers Leadership for Life Promotion and the Canadian Association of Suicide Prevention. Erin identifies as otipêmisiwak, Cree-Michif and Icelandic-English and works collectively as one with nations across Akiikwe, Mother Earth. She carries many different experiences in her life bundle, including a MA Global Leadership, post-graduate certification in Ecopyschology, Getting to Maybe Systems Change Residency and Wolf Willow Positive Deviants Fellow in our everlasting circles of collective wisdom.
Karri-Lynn Paul, a seasoned Indigenous adult educator from Wôlastôqewisqehsan (Woodstock First Nation), brings a distinctive leadership approach. Beyond mere theory, her personal leadership journey is filled with stories of resilience, perseverance and turning failures into stepping stones. Holding a Master's in Adult Education and over two decades of practical experience, she's dedicated to creating transformative learning experiences and promoting positive social change. Karri-Lynn is passionate about tapping into our inner wisdom and envisioning a future rooted in Indigenous values. She believes that recognizing life's abundance, sharing our stories, and engaging in reflective practices are the foundations of powerful and enduring leadership.
Marcia Turner is an award-winning consultant and TEDx speaker. She is Gitxsan from the community of Gitanyow and grew up in Gitsegukla. Marcia is from the Lax Gibuu (wolf clan) and Wilp Haijimsxw (House of Chief Haijimsxw) and carries the name Tsu’malit, a leadership responsibility. She is a mother of four grown sons and currently lives on Vancouver Island in unceded Snuneymuxw territory also known as Nanaimo.
Marcia is the CEO/Founder of Daxgedim Haanak’ Consulting, a company specializing in systems change and decolonization to dismantle white supremacy and advance the rights of Indigenous Peoples. In 2023 she received the Indigenous Business of the Year award from the BC Achievement Foundation, and in May 2024 was invited to speak at TEDxRRU about a framework she developed – the Four Indigenous Conditions of Systems Change™. Drawing from her ancestral teachings, Marcia’s work is rooted in her Gitxsan values, teachings and practices. Marcia and her team of all-Indigenous associates address equity for Indigenous peoples, privilege Indigenous knowledge systems, and amplify the voices of Indigenous peoples.
Marcia brings a wealth of knowledge with over thirty years of experience working collaboratively with a diverse range of First Nations communities, Indigenous organizations, public agencies, non-profit organizations, post-secondary institutions, and governments across BC and Canada. She has a Master’s Degree in Leadership from Royal Roads University, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science with a minor in Indigenous Studies from the University of Victoria.
Your program fee includes a single bedroom on the Banff Centre campus for the duration of your program.
Get connected with other artists on campus and focus on your projects in a creative environment while we take care of the day-to-day essentials.
Using a credit-based system to dine on campus, our flexible meal plans allow you to select meals according to your own needs during your stay. Banff Centre can respond to most dietary requests.
The Full Flex meal plan is equivalent to $70 credit per day, equivalent to breakfast, lunch and dinner at our Buffet service.
Enjoy free parking, wifi, and access to the Walter Phillips Gallery while you are a guest at Banff Centre. Our Participant Resources team is also available to assist you with medical support or event information. See our Events Calendar to learn more about what’s going on at Banff Centre while you’re onsite.
The Paul D. Fleck Library and Archives - Current Services
The Library is delighted to support Banff Centre Participants, Artists, and Faculty with the following services:
Please email library@banffcentre.ca or archives@banffcentre.ca for more information or assistance.
Your program fee includes free access to the swimming pool, climbing gym and fitness suite as well as discounted rates for classes at the Sally Borden Fitness and Recreation Centre.
Join in group seminars/workshops.
Learning Journals for course materials.
(Includes Registration Fee of $35.00)
Up to a maximum of 30 participants per program
Financial assistance is available for Indigenous peoples or non-Indigenous peoples working for Indigenous organizations. Each request is reviewed individually based on submission of the Financial Assistance form available in the Student Portal.
More information about funding opportunities for our Leadership programs can be found here.
To be considered for financial assistance, please ensure that you select "Yes" to 'I would like to apply for financial assistance' during registration, and log into your Student Portal to complete your funding application form within 48 hours of submitting your initial registration. We strongly recommend timely submission of the funding form, to be considered. Note that we reserve the right to cancel registrants who select 'No' to financial assistance if payment and confirmation of attendance is not received within 7 days of registration.
Banff Centre will issue official tax receipts for eligible tuition fees and all financial assistance and awards as required by the Income Tax Act. You will receive a T2202 (Tuition and Enrolment Certificate) for eligible tuition fees paid and a T4A (Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income) for applicable financial assistance and awards.
Learn more about the steps to Complete Your Application.
If you have requested financial assistance,please ensure that you log in to your Student Portal within 48 hours of registration, to submit your funding request form.
If you do not require financial assistance, please ensure that you log in to your Student Portal and complete confirmation of attendance and full payment as soon as possible, but no later than 7 days from completing Step 1.
Note that non-completion within the timelines stated may result in your place being offered to the waitlist.
All programs, faculty, dates, fees, and offers of financial assistance are subject to change. Program fee is subject to applicable taxes. Banff Centre reserves the right to cancel a program up to seven days prior to program start date if there is insufficient enrolment, and in this case all fees will be refunded. Please note that Banff Centre is not liable for any personal/travel expenses incurred. Non-refundable fees and deposits will be retained upon cancellation. Any other fees are refunded at the discretion of the Banff Centre. The application deadline is 11:59 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.
