About MDCC
The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM) became involved in the Debert archaeological sites in 1989 when Dr. Donald M. Julien, Executive Director of CMM, was notified of newly-discovered artifacts in the Belmont area. Realizing the importance of the sites and seeing the destruction caused by all-terrain vehicles, Dr. Julien began to work towards the protection of these very important sites. Ultimately these efforts led to the vision for the Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre.
The Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre (MDCC) project is a charitable, not-for-profit First Nations organization, mandated by all thirteen Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs. The project is administered through The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq, a First Nation tribal council. The Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre became incorporated as a society in 2001, and gained charitable status as an organization in 2002.
In 2002, the Mi’kmawey Debert Elders’ Advisory Council was convened by Dr. Julien: this council represents Mi’kmaw communities across Nova Scotia and they have been critical in guiding the development and vision of the project.
Since this time, the project has been through an extensive planning process including the 2003 Elders’ Programmatic Statement (Connecting with Our Past), a 2005 Feasibility Study (includes fundraising feasibility), a 2007 Plan for Visitor Experiences, a 2009 Master Site Plan (includes a sustainable design strategy and security analysis), and a 2010 Functional Programme. Paralleling these individual planning elements are a number of other long-term planning processes including curatorial research at museums in Canada and the United States, environmental and archaeological assessment, and a significant endowment campaign.
MDCC Board of Directors
Dr. Donald M. Julien, C.M., O.N.S., DCL, DHumLElder in Residence
The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq
don@cmmns.com
Former Executive Director of The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq for the past 19 years, Dr. Julien is also a Mi’kmaw historian and human rights advocate. With over 40 years researching and documenting Mi’kmaw history, Donald shares his knowledge and experiences through speaking engagements, university lectures and research papers. Donald is a Member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Nova Scotia, which were granted for his work promoting Mi’kmaw history, language and culture. He has also been awarded two honorary degrees from Acadia University and Mount Saint Vincent University.
Donald is a peace time veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces and has served in the United Nations on a peacekeeping tour in Cyprus. He continues work with the Canadian Armed forces in a community advisory role for the RCMP Aboriginal Advisory Group, as well as the Auditor General on Aboriginal matters. He sits on the Advisory Board for Admiral of the Canadian Navy, and he was appointed Honorary Lt. Colonel in 2011. Don and his wife Diane live in Truro, proud parents of four children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Donald Julien is the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre.
Angeline Gillis, B.A., LL.B.CMM Executive Director
The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq
agillis@cmmns.com
Angeline Gillis, B.A., LL.B., was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia and was raised in East Bay, N.S. and is a member of the Eskasoni First Nation. She is the daughter of Fred Gillis and Donna Stevens, granddaughter of the late Andrew J. Stevens, former Keptin of the Sante’ Mawi’omi.
Angie earned her undergraduate degree from Dalhousie University in 2005 and her LL.B from the Schulich School of Law (formerly Dalhousie Law School) in 2009. After completing her articling with Boyne Clarke Barristers and Solicitors, she was called to the Bar in June 2010, having performed her affirmation in both English and Mi’kmaq.
Angie is the Executive Directors at The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq. In addition to her work with the CMM. Within this role, she provides oversight and guidance to all CMM’s departments, over a hundred staff, numerous files, projects, and services offered to eight (8) Mi’kmaw communities in Mainland Nova Scotia. She is also a member of the Canadian Bar Association, Halifax’s Estate Planning Counsel, and is commissioned as a Notary Public. Angeline Gillis is a member of the Board of Directors for the Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre.
Wyatt WhiteAssociate Executive Director
Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq
Wyatt White is from the Mi’gmaq First Nation of Listuguj, QC but has lived in Nova Scotia for 22 years. Since joining the Nova Scotia public service, Wyatt’s career has spanned Mi’kmaw community development, intergovernmental relations, crown-Indigenous affairs and Indigenous education. In 2022, Wyatt joined the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq as the associate executive director where he works with leaders across the organization towards strategic growth and expanding on the collective work of deeper indigenization and decolonization practices. Wyatt is a dog dad, avid curler and always proud to call Mi’kma’ki, the traditional and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq, home.
Jim HepworthDirector of Community Programs and Corporate Services
The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq
Jim Hepworth has over 10 years experience working for First Nations Communities within the Atlantic Region in the field of community and economic development. He has been with The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM) since 1995. Before being selected for his position as Director of Community Programs and Corporate Services, Jim was Economic Development Officer at The CMM. As Senior Director, Jim is responsible for the operation of all programs and services with Tripartite Secretariat and Liaison, Education, Health, MMDC, and Economic Development. Prior to his employment at The CMM he worked at the Canada Employment Centre and Statistics Canada.
Jim holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree majoring in Human Resource Management and Economics from Saint Mary’s University. Jim is a Certified Human Resources Professional with the Canadian Counsel of Human Resources. Jim Hepworth is the co-chair of the Steering committee of the Tripartite Forum. Jim Hepworth is a member of the Board of Directors for the Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre.
Trina Khattar, BBA., FNHPDirector of Department of Community Services and Infrastructure
Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq
Trina is a Mi’kmaq woman and community member of the We’koqma’q First Nation. She is the proud daughter of the Late Keptin Alexander Joseph Michael and Mary Arlene Michael of We’koqma’q. Trina grew up in her home community her entire childhood until she moved to Fredericton NB to attend the University of New Brunswick to obtain her Bachelor of Business Administration Degree. She finished her degree in May 2000 and moved to Halifax to start her family and career.
Trina has extensive experience working in the Atlantic First Nation Communities in several capacities. She worked at Healing Our Nations as Program Manager for eight years, Capacity Development Advisor and Operations Officer at Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation in First Nation Housing for a total of 5 years, and most recently Housing and Infrastructure Policy Analyst at the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs Secretariat.
Trina started as Program Manager for the Community Infrastructure team with the Confederacy of Mainland Mikmaq in October 2019 and have since gained significant knowledge on the housing and infrastructure that our communities currently face. Trina is committed to working with our CMM member communities to co-develop strategies related to but not limited to housing and infrastructure, emergency measures, and solid waste management which are driven by our member communities.
Tyler SackDirector of Aquatic Resources & Fisheries Management
Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq
Tyler Sack is currently the Director of Aquatic Resources & Fisheries Management at the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq. He first joined the CMM in 2020 as the Director of Governance, and pursued the lateral move at the end of 2023. Tyler grew up in Sipekne’katik and is a member of Membertou First Nation.
His previous experience includes Orenda Software Solutions, where he worked as the Manager of Research and Analytics for five years. Prior to that he worked in communications with Membertou, and in capacity development with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Tyler earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology from Saint Mary’s University and a Master of Arts in Sociology from the University of Guelph. He is an alumnus of the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference, participating in 2022. In 2024, Tyler was named to the Action Canada Fellowship.
Former MDCC Board Members
Lynn KnockwoodDirector of Common Services
The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq
Lynn Knockwood has over 22 years experience working for First Nations communities in the field of finance. Lynn has been with The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM) since 1992. She has held positions as Finance Clerk and Financial Service Manager at CMM. Prior to her employment at CMM she worked with Mi’kma’ki Development Corporation Housing Services. Lynn holds a Certificate in Business, and has attended many professional development courses pertaining to her field.
In 2005, she was appointed to the senior management team as the Director of Common Services bringing her talents in financial management and intuitive administrative style to the position. In 2010, The Aboriginal Financial Officers Association (AFOA) of Canada was pleased to announce Lynn Anne Knockwood as a recipient to receive the AFOA/Xerox Excellence in Aboriginal Leadership Award – community/regional category – for her many years of dedication and leadership in finance. Lynn Knockwood is the Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for the Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre.
MDCC Staff
Tim BernardMDCC Executive Director
Mi'kmawey Debert Cultural Centre
tim@cmmns.com
Tim Bernard is well known beyond his own community of Millbrook as the Manager/Editor of the Mi’kmaq Maliseet Nations News and Eastern Woodland Print Communications. Employed by The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM) as a Land Claims Researcher from 1988 to 1994, he gained extensive historical knowledge under the direction of Dr. Donald Julien.
Tim is the Mi’kmaw co-chair of the Culture and History working committee of the Tripartite Forum as well as a member of the History Month. Through these and other avenues, Tim’s direction affects communities across Nova Scotia. He has set forth and achieved realistic and meaningful outcomes through these avenues, advancing knowledge and appreciation for place names, language growth and retention, cultural resources for educators and the importance of the stories of Elders and others in the communities.
He has served on the task force of the Nova Scotia Heritage Strategy and is regularly involved with overall heritage and tourism sector development. Tim Bernard is a member of the Board of Directors for the Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre.
Leah Morine Rosenmeier, Ph.D.Director of Operations
Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre
leah@cmmns.com
Leah Morine Rosenmeier (Ph.D.) is the MDCC Research and Interpretation Specialist. Her duties include overall project planning as well as research and interpretation. With more than 20 years of experience in the museum field, she helps to bridge the project to academia and to museum practice. Throughout her career Leah has been dedicated to community education and development through cultural activities and research tackling difficult issues such as repatriation as well as more creative endeavors such as exhibition development and educational outreach. Her favorite projects include the Mi’kmaw photo project—Mikwite’lmanej Mi’kmaqi’k: Let Us Remember the Old Mi’kmaq, co-creating Anguti’s Amulet and the related community-based Inuit archaeology project in Makkovik, Labrador, and, of course, Mi’kmawey Debert. She lives in Truro with her husband Randall and their four children.
Sunshine BernardIRS Legacy Coordinator
sunshine.bernard@cmmns.com
Sunshine Bernard is a proud Mik’maq member of Millbrook First Nation with roots tied to Waycobah First Nation where she grew up. As a former employee of Millbrook First Nation for 27 years, she brings to MDCC experiences that allows her to be very passionate about promoting our culture, health and wellness and building relationships working with our children, youth, elders and families with our communities.
Sunshine is the IRS Legacy Coordinator and works closely with Mi’kmawey Debert Elders’ Advisory Council, IRS survivors and their families and the curatorial team at Mi’kmawey Debert .
Kristin BjornerudExhibits Resource Manager
Kristin.bjornerud@cmmns.com
Kristin Bjornerud grew up on Treaty 6 territory in rural Alberta. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Saskatchewan and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Lethbridge. Kristin has over twenty years’ experience in the cultural sector working as a professional artist, educator and gallery assistant. An award-winning artist, her work has been exhibited widely and is in numerous private and public collections including the Canada Council Art Bank and the Brucebo Collection (Sweden). Prior to joining MDCC she held various positions at public and academic art galleries supporting curatorial research, collections documentation and exhibitions logistics.
Sarah Brooks
MDCC Digital Content Developer
sbrooks@cmmns.com
Sarah Brooks is from Sɨkɨpne’katik First Nation in Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia). She graduated from NSCAD University in 2019, receiving her BFA with a major in textiles and a minor in art history. Sarah also received her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in 2022 at NSCAD University in Kjipuktuk (Halifax, NS). Through her MFA studies, thesis writing and thesis art show, Sarah explored personal narratives in her creative making practices, reconnecting herself to her own cultural and community ties in relation to the land, lost knowledges, and reclamation of Mi’kmaw textile making techniques. In 2019, Sarah was first hired through The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq and Saint Mary’s University to contribute to T’an Weji-sqalia’tiek: Mi’kmaw Place Names Project and Digital Atlas. Within this project work, Sarah was trained to review footage of Mi’kmaw Elders using Final Cut Pro to edit and compose video interviews. In 2022, Sarah was hired as Project Coordinator for the Mi’kmaw Place Names Project and TRC Liaison for The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM) and Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre (MDCC). In continuation of the Mi’kmaw Place Names Project’s development, Sarah alongside Trudy Sable contributed to further research aspects and helped conduct and capture multiple new interviews with Mi’kmaw Elders in Mi’kma’ki. Since that time, Sarah continued to contribute to the Mi’kmaw Place Names Project and in 2025 she joined the team at Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre transitioning her role as Digital Content Developer for MDCC
Michelle CaldwellMDCC Fund Development Coordinator
michelle.caldwell@cmmns.com
Michelle Caldwell joins MDCC with 2.5 years of experience providing retirement investment guidance and 26 years in the customer service sector. Originally from Shubenacadie and now living in Millbrook, she brings both financial insight and a strong commitment to community. She is excited to help develop new funding strategies, strengthen current initiatives, and work alongside the team toward a shared goal: creating a welcoming space that educates, supports healing, and serves community. Outside of work, Michelle is a proud mother of two grown children, runs a small crafting business, and is always ready to lend a hand to those who need support.
Kaitlin CullenMDCC Exhibit Developer/Researcher
Kaitlin.Cullen@cmmns.com
Kaitlin Cullen was born in Calgary, AB, and is a band member of Pine Creek First Nation, in Manitoba. She graduated in 2025 with a BA from Dalhousie University with a History major, along with a minor in Indigenous Studies. Some of her interests include biking, embroidery, beadwork, sewing, creating moccasins, and spending time with family.
Prior to joining the team at MDCC, Kaitlin worked and volunteered during her undergrad to broaden her knowledge and strengthen her passion for the arts, language, and research. Some of these roles included working in Communications at the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre for 2.5 years. Kaitlin is also an assistant facilitator for blanket exercises for the Elder at Dalhousie (playing the role of the European).
Sharon FarrellCollections Manager
Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre
sharonf@cmmns.com
Sharon Farrell (B.A.) is from St. Alban’s, Bay d’Espoir, Newfoundland and is a member of the Miawpukek First Nation. Sharon plays a major role tracking all curatorial data and integrating such data into research and interpretation outcomes. While her formal duties involve the development and management of the curatorial data for the project, she can be found assisting with a range of IT, writing and editing tasks for the project. Trained in archaeology at Memorial University, she moved to Nova Scotia in 2005 to work on the geology and archaeology of the Debert-Belmont archaeological sites. Being involved with the MDCC project allows Sharon to feel connected to her Mi’kmaw identity and to bridge past generations of her family.
Nicholas HepworthMDCC IT Manager
Nicholas.Hepworth@cmmns.com
Nicholas Hepworth is IT Manager at MDCC, where he oversees all technology strategy and operations. He is passionate about making technology as frictionless and seamless as possible, ensuring staff, partners, and community members can focus on the work that matters most. Nicholas designs and maintains scalable network and server infrastructure, with strong backup and disaster recovery procedures to protect critical data. He aligns IT initiatives with organizational goals through strategic planning and thoughtful vendor management, and develops clear, user-friendly documentation and IT materials. Through this work, he helps ensure that Mi’kmaw history is documented, safeguarded, and accessible for future generations. Nicholas holds a Bachelor of Applied Computer Science from Dalhousie University, applying his technical foundation to solve real-world challenges.
Natalie JessMDCC Curatorial Support Specialist
natalie@cmmns.com
Since 2010, Natalie has worked in the archaeology, forestry, and forest school sectors. She holds an honours degree in Anthropology from Saint Mary’s University and is currently working towards her MA in History at Saint Mary’s University, with a focus on the Fenian Raids of 1866. She is a certified Field Leader through the Outdoor Council of Canada and is a certified Lead Forest and Nature School Practitioner through the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada.
She has participated in various excavations on Mi’kmaw archaeological sites including Port Joli, Gaspereau Lake, and Debert. As a silviculturalist, she planted trees and enforced quality standards in British Columbia, Alberta, and Nova Scotia. In 2023, she founded the Truro Forest School, a not-for-profit that helps children develop a reciprocal relationship with the natural world. She also has the honour of facilitating Learning with Mi’kma’ki, a professional development course for Early Childhood Educators.
Natalie thrives in the outdoors and still makes time to engage in small archaeology projects throughout the province. She lives in Truro with her two young boys and their Siberian Husky, Loki.
Geordy MarshallMi'kmaw Language Specialist
Mi'kmawey Debert Cultural Centre
geordy.marshall@cmmns.com
Geordy Marshall is from Eskasoni First Nation in Unama’ki. His first language is Mi’kmaw, and he is the Mi’kmaw Language Specialist for Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre. Geordy was raised with the influence of the late Kji Keptin Alex Denny and his Late Grandparents Malian and Joe B Marshall, he also learned a lot from the Late Murdena Marshall, and with their combined efforts, Geordy worked his whole life serving the needs of his community and people. In 2016, Geordy Marshall and the Late Sherise Paul collaborated to establish a Pride Organization in Eskasoni, and established the first Pride Festival in Eskasoni that year. Later on, Geordy went on to become a chef to establish technical guidance for his passion for learning Mi’kmaw ways of cooking and eating, and using netukulimk as the backbone of his existence, and how he engages with the world around him.
Geordy Marshall is currently working on the language needs for exhibits and the future centre, striving to reconcile the Mi’kmaw Language by uncovering truths of the origin of word parts, and discovering new things like regional accents, ancient words without apparently known word parts, and discovering the truth of the philosophy of the language used, based on the knowledge passed on to him by his predecessors. Geordy doesn’t claim to be a language expert, but is very passionate about working on the language, and will do so for the rest of his life.
Ross NervigCommunications Officer
Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre
ross.nervig@cmmns.com
With 15 years of experience in writing, Ross Nervig has worked in creative and challenging roles in marketing and communications, particularly within nonprofit organizations, the social sector, and higher education. At organizations like the Center for Victims of Torture, Revolver.MN, and Avenues for Homeless Youth, Ross developed communication strategies and content, coordinated donor and stakeholder engagements, and collaborated on fundraising events. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of New Orleans. He lives in Truro, Nova Scotia with his wife and son.
Courtney Nevin
MDCC Lead Educator
Courtney.Nevin@cmmns.com
Courtney Nevin (B.A., B.Ed.) is the MDCC Lead Educator. Courtney is from Sipekne’katik with close ties to Membertou. She has strong connection to her Mi’kmaw culture, and she is trying to increase her proficiency in Mi’kmaw language and Indigenous hand talk to be more inclusive to all people in Mi’kma’ki.
Courtney is the daughter of Wallace Nevin from Sipekne’katik and Jeanette Paul (formal from Membertou). She is the granddaughter of Dr. Lawrence F. Paul of Membertou whom was the first chief in Nova Scotia to get wet utility infrastructure in a first nation community in Nova Scotia, he helped co-found Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselling Association of Nova Scotia and many other accomplishments. Dr. Lawrence F. Paul aims were to improve the lives and the living conditions of Indigenous peoples which he instill in his children and grandchildren.
Courtney received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Criminology from Saint Mary’s University in 2008. Courtney received her Bachelor of Education in Secondary Education with a focus on Mi’kmaw Education in 2013. She has work as an educator in the CCRCE, HRCE and Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey school in Sipekne’katik since graduating in 2013. She has taken teaching positions at L’nu Sipuk Kina’muokuom (LSK) School and Bridgeway Academy in Nova Scotia Courtney has worked as a Bail Supervisor worker at Mi’kmaw Legal Support Network and she worked at other Mi’kmaw Organizations in Nova Scotia.
Kamden NicholasCuratorial Associate: Collections
Mi'kmawey Debert Cultural Centre
kamden.nicholas@cmmns.com
Kamden Nicholas is Mi’kmawey Debert’s Curatorial Associate working in Collections.
Kamden is from Pictou Landing First Nation and Coxheath, Cape Breton equally.
Currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree from Memorial University with a major in Archaeology, Kamden has worked in archaeology and anthropology since 2010. Kamden’s experiences have taken her from excavating a military powder magazine within the Parks Canada boundaries of the Fortress of Louisbourg to caring for archaeological resources at the ancestral site of Pasi’tue’k.
Kamden will be working closely with the curatorial team at Mi’kmawey Debert and will play a key role in the development of collections at the Centre as well as helping to bring collections back home to Mi’kma’ki.
Mercedes PetersSharing our Stories Coordinator
Mi'kmawey Debert Cultural Centre
mercedes.peters@cmmns.com
Mercedes Peters was born in Menahkwesk in Wolastokuk and is a band member of Glooscap First Nation. With a love for storytelling and a passion for public education, she has spent the last ten years dedicated to sharing and learning Mi’kmaw history with others through many different initiatives. She is currently working on her PhD in History through the University of British Columbia, and her dissertation, rooted in Mi’kmaw ways of thinking about and doing history, focuses on Mi’kmaw and Wolastoqey women’s grassroots activism and community care work from the 1970s through to the early 2000s.
As the Sharing Our Stories Coordinator, Mercedes will be working closely with the MDCC team on sharing Mi’kmaw worldviews, language and history with learners of all ages, as well as educators across Nova Scotia and beyond. Before starting at MDCC, Mercedes was a researcher and oral historian at the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre in Vancouver, BC, where she helped in supporting residential school survivors and their communities in telling their stories and identifying research needs in ways that put their voices, goals, and healing first.
Sheila Pierro-TremblayMi’kmawey Debert Administrator
Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre
sheila@cmmns.com
Sheila Pierro-Tremblay is the Project Administrator for the MDCC project. Her far-reaching duties include managing the logistics for all aspects of the MDCC, with special attention to the Mi’kmawey Debert Elders’ Advisory Council. A Mi’kmaw speaker she assists the project regularly with translations and understanding cultural concepts within the language. Sheila graduated from Success Business College with her Travel and Tourism Diploma in June 2002. Her previous experience as a Front Desk Agent, a Certified Heritage Interpreter and Certified Visitor Information Travel Councilor has been valuable to the planning process of the Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre project. Sheila lives in the Millbrook First Nation with her husband Elvis.
Ashley SutherlandCuratorial Associate-Digital Assets
Mi'kmawey Debert Cultural Centre
Ashley.Sutherland@cmmns.com
Ashley Sutherland is the Curatorial Associate for Digital Assets at Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre. She holds a MA in Art History with a museum/curatorial studies concentration from Carleton University and an archival certificate from the Council of Nova Scotia Archives. Ashley has been working in community museums and archives in various capacities for over a decade. Much of her work has involved documenting, organizing, and digitizing collections. Her role at Mi’kmawey Debert includes the management of information and digital assets, and assisting with the development of MDCC’s forthcoming Digital Portal. Ashley is also a keen researcher and writer. In 2024, she visited the National Anthropological Archives and American Philosophical Society with MDCC’s Language Specialist and Elder Barbara Tanas to survey language records. Born and raised in Mi’kma’kik, Ashley spends her spare time on the land, photographing and sharing her love for nature, and making art.
sharing our stories