About the Indigenous Protocols Collective
The Indigenous Protocols Collective began when CARFAC formed an Indigenous Advisory Circle in 2019, as a commitment to supporting First Nations, Inuit, and Métis artists. The Indigenous Protocols Collective is now transitioning from Advisory Circle to a collective model, working in partnership with CARFAC on projects of national scope.
We thank the original Advisory Group and all who participated in the development of indigenousprotocols.art. One of the Calls To Action mentioned in the Indigenous Protocols for the Visual Arts Resource Guide is to address the gaps in current legal frameworks and discourse around the protection of collective Indigenous intellectual property systems and Traditional Cultural Expressions. The rationale behind the formation of the Indigenous Protocols Collective was to respond to this Call to Action by providing practical resources for Indigenous Artists to navigate the current artistic landscapes in Canada and develop resources to advance Indigenous arts advocacy.
We’re currently furthering the work of indigenousprotocols.art through the Professional Development Workshop Series for Indigenous Artists 2026-2027. We aim to empower Indigenous artists, preserve and celebrate Indigenous cultural heritage, and advocate for respectful and informed engagement with Indigenous artistic expressions.
Indigenous Protocols Collective Members
Holly Aubichon investigates topics of urban Indigeneity and how ancestral knowledge is carried through to urban spaces using memory recollection, the land, and body through forms of painting, writing, tattooing and curation. Born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, her Indigenous relations come from Green Lake region, SK and Lestock, SK. Aubichon’s practice is laboriously reliant on retracing familial memories and connections. She uses painting as a way to foster personal healing. As an extension of her practice, she has begun a traditional Indigenous tattoo mentorship to acknowledge the memories that bodies hold, support the healing, grieving and the revival of traditional tattoo practices. She graduated from the University of Regina in the Spring of 2021 with a Bachelors of Fine Arts, minoring in Indigenous Art History. Aubichon is the 2021 BMO 1st Art! Regional winner for Saskatchewan.
Larissa Desrosiers is an Ojibwe Queer Singer/Songwriter and Beadworker from Couchiching First Nation in Treaty #3. She has been living as a guest on Unceded, Unsurrendered Algonquin Anishinaabe Territory since 2014. She has an Honours Bachelor of Music Degree at Carleton University with a Minor in Indigenous Studies where she had the opportunity to study under Singer/Songwriter Lynn Myles, as well as Don Ross. Upon taking a break from school in 2019, Larissa started a beadwork microbusiness: Bangishimon Beadwork. Whether on stage howling with her guitar or at her desk with her beads, Larissa’s goal has always been to create space for healing, grieving, imagination, and social growth. She has had the opportunity to do so through projects like the National Arts Centre’s Indigenous Cities: Ottawa and FemmeVox, where she collaborated on an original song with Amanda Rheaume. Larissa was formerly the Workshop Manager for indigenousprotocols.art, and is currently working as Programs Director at CARFAC National. Whether it’s the arts, advocacy, or aunty-ing her nieces and nephews around the dinner table, Larissa moves through life with an unwavering passion to help people.
Liz Barron has been self-employed in the arts for the last 25 years. She is dedicated to building strategies and programs that target, motivate, and engage Indigenous artists and organizations working in all cultural milieu. Her skills in arts management includes experience working with CARFAC, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, and numerous Indigenous led arts and culture not-for-profits. She is currently employed as Executive Director of Operations at the Indigenous Curatorial Collective (ICCA). Liz is one of the original founders of Urban Shaman Gallery in Winnipeg, and she has served as a mentor with the Manitoba Music Indigenous Mentorship program. She was the project manager for one of the largest Indigenous contemporary exhibitions in Canada, Close Encounters: The Next 500 Years, led by four Indigenous curators which featured over 30 Indigenous contemporary artists. In 2021, she started the Barron Bursary at Digital Arts Resource Centre in Ottawa, to support an Indigenous moving image maker to study film at the University of Ottawa. Barron is a member of the Manitoba Metis Federation and a member of the Catfish Local, Winnipeg.
Monique Manatch is a member of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake. Her work has centered on the production media arts and multimedia arts. She has facilitated the development of Indigenous artists throughout Ontario and Quebec. Over the past 20 years Monique has produced several video documentaries about Indigenous issues. Prior to this challenge, Monique was the manager of the Aboriginal Media Program at First Nations Technical Institute (FNTI), a post secondary diploma program in partnership with Humber College. At FNTI, Monique facilitated training in the production of several notable documentaries and educational videos on Aboriginal culture. During 2015, Monique facilitated the production of several videos with the youth from Kitigan Zibi Anishnabeg. These videos dealt with youth issues including bullying, missing and murdered Indigenous women, traditional Indigenous activities, and a fictional account of an Indigenous warrior fighting evil. Monique is Executive Director and one of the founders of Indigenous Culture and Media Innovations.
Jennifer Smith is a Red River Métis independent curator, writer, and arts administrator from Treaty 1 Territory/Winnipeg. Jennifer has curated exhibitions for Gallery 1C03 & Plug In ICA, AKA artist-run, the Manitoba Craft Council, and was the Indigenous Curator in residence at aceartinc. in 2018 and works with the window winnipeg collective. Her writing has been published through galleries and art publications, she was part of the 2022 Momus Emerging Critics Residency: Writing Relations, Making Futurities: Global Indigenous Art Criticism. Through her work as an arts administrator
Jennifer works as the Executive Director of the National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition (NIMAC), and works on projects that include programming, consulting and research for many arts organizations, mostly in the media art sector.