HOLLY FORTIER, Cree/Dene from Ft. McKay First Nation, Alberta, was born in Treaty 7 Territory and was fortunate to be raised by cultural leaders, academics and activists. She owns a business that specializes in the development and delivery of Indigenous Awareness Training. She has been delivering trainings across Canada since 2007 to thousands and thousands of participants from government, corporate clients, educators, service organizations and first responders.  
 
Her passion for sharing Indigenous history and culture rises out of her mother’s inspirational survival from a childhood in Indian Residential School, a story of courage, resilience and eventual triumph. Holly’s presentations go beyond facts and statistics to insightful personal testimony delivered in a compassionate, non-judgmental way. Those who attend her trainings describe them as “life changing” where they learn things they have never heard before and see complicated cultural issues with new perspective.  
 
Holly sees it as her mission to encourage relationships of respect and understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. To that end, she has launched a film and television company called Two Canoes Media. Two Canoes Media produces high-end marketing videos and documentaries, many of them award-winning.  
 
Holly has been involved in the Alberta film industry since the early 1990’s, in projects including North of 60, The Assassination of Jesse James, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, The Revenant and many documentaries. 
 
She received the 2016 Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women Esquao Award for Culture and the 2018 Alberta Aboriginal Role Model award. She is on the board of NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community.  Holly received an Honorary Degree from Olds College in 2022.  In 2023 Holly received the Alberta Chamber of Resources, Indigenous Leadership Award. 
 
She says her biggest blessing is being mother to her daughter and two sons, and Kokum to three granddaughters.