Angeline (Angie) Gillis is a proud L’nu woman, Mi’kmaw lawyer, advocate and Indigenous leader whose career has been grounded in service to Mi’kmaw people and in advancing practical, Indigenous-led solutions within the systems that most directly affect First Nations people and communities.

Angie serves as Executive Director of the Confederacy of Mi’kmaw Nations (CMN) — formerly The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM), a Tribal Council serving and supporting eight Mi’kmaw communities in mainland Nova Scotia. The first woman to hold the position, she leads an organization of approximately 200 employees working across a broad range of priorities including governance, justice and public safety, community development, housing and infrastructure, economic development, environmental stewardship, fisheries, Indigenous Knowledge and major projects.

A practicing member of the Nova Scotia Bar and graduate of Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Law, Angie brings a legal, governance and negotiation lens to more than fifteen years of work at the intersection of Mi’kmaw communities, governments, industry, academia and Indigenous organizations. Her career has taken her from legal practice and in-house counsel through environmental and natural-resource leadership to senior executive leadership. A negotiator by training and by nature, she is known for bringing people with different perspectives to the same table, navigating complex issues and finding practical ways forward.

A significant focus of Angie’s work is Indigenous justice, public safety, governance and institutional reform. She participates in senior Indigenous-government tables examining justice, policing and public safety and contributes to national work on Indigenous policing. Her governance experience also includes service on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Departmental Audit Committee and six years as Chair of Natural Resources Canada’s Departmental Audit Committee. Across this work, she is particularly interested in strengthening accountability, Indigenous jurisdiction and culturally grounded approaches to justice and public safety.

Angie’s approach to systems change is informed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, the Marshall Inquiry and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Equally important are the lived experiences of Indigenous people navigating institutions that were not designed with them in mind. She believes meaningful reform requires moving beyond identifying systemic problems toward changing the structures, policies and accountability mechanisms that allow those problems to persist.

Earlier in her career, Angie developed extensive expertise in environmental governance, Indigenous Knowledge and impact assessment. She has carried that experience into her work on major projects and broader public-policy questions, bringing together Indigenous Knowledge, law, governance and practical decision-making. At the centre of her approach is a straightforward principle: Indigenous peoples should not simply be consulted about decisions affecting their lands, rights and communities—they should have meaningful roles in making them.

Over the course of her career, Angie has served on numerous national and regional boards, government committees and advisory bodies spanning Indigenous governance, policing, fisheries, natural resources, environmental sustainability, philanthropy, academia and economic development. She has served on Dalhousie University’s Board of Governors, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster and several national advisory bodies, and has appeared before parliamentary committees on matters affecting First Nations. She currently contributes to a number of national and regional tables, including the Assembly of First Nations’ policing and fisheries work, the Indigenous Centre for Cumulative Effects, Dalhousie’s Faculty of Management Advisory Board, the Community Foundation of Nova Scotia and the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation.

In 2025, Angie was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal, following a nomination by the Assembly of First Nations, in recognition of her service to Indigenous peoples and Canada. Her leadership has also been recognized by the Nova Scotia Legislature, and beyond her professional work, she has been recognized three times by the Mi’kmaw Sport Council of Nova Scotia as Aboriginal Coach of the Year for her contributions to basketball and community.

For all the titles and tables, Angie describes herself much more simply: a mother, farmer’s daughter and Nova Scotian. She believes good leadership is built on relationships, trust, humour and the willingness to have difficult conversations. And she believes lasting change rarely comes from simply finding a seat at someone else’s table. Sometimes, you have to help redesign the table itself.

Executive Director of The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq for the past 28 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. Donald and his wife Diane live in Truro, proud parents of four children, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Donald Julien is the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre.

Wyatt White

Associate Executive Director, The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq

Wyatt White is originally from the Mi’gmaq First Nation of Listuguj, Quebec but called Nova Scotia home for more than 20 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Environmental Science) degree from Acadia University and a Master of Education from St. Francis Xavier University.  Since joining the Nova Scotia public service in 2002, Wyatt’s career has spanned First Nations community development, intergovernmental relations, crown-Indigenous affairs, and for the past eight years, his attention had turned towards Indigenous education, coupled with his 15 plus-years of experience in facilitating public service training related to the Legal Duty to Consult, Indigenous Perceptions, Treaty Education and Reconciliation learning opportunities.

In the fall of 2021, Wyatt joined the faculty of L’nu, Political and Social Studies at Cape Breton University but after a term, realized his passion for teaching lies in helping to reshape the mindsets of public sector and not-for-profit employees, in our collective work of the indigenization and decolonization of organizations, and institutes through a lens of treaty education and reconciliation. Throughout his career, sound public policy decision-making and relational leadership have been at the heart of his career pursuits.

Wyatt was an active member of the Tripartite Forum from 2002 to 2015, as well as former board member for United Way Halifax.

In September 2022, Wyatt was thrilled to join The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaw as the Associate Executive Director.  He is a proud dog-dad to a puppy named Mabel who keeps him on his toes and is an avid curler when the weather turns cooler. Wyatt is always proud to continue calling Mi’kma’ki, our traditional and unceded territory, home.