Chantal Fiola (she/her) is Michif (Red River Métis) ̶ a citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) ̶ with family from St. Laurent, Ste Geneviève, and Ste. Anne, MB. Dr Fiola is Associate Vice-President Indigenous Engagement at the University of Winnipeg, maintains an appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Inner-City Studies, and was the Distinguished Indigenous Scholar’s Chair from 2021-2024. Her second book, Returning to Ceremony: Spirituality in Manitoba Métis Communities, won the Manitoba Day Award (Association for Manitoba Archives). Her first book, Rekindling the Sacred Fire: Métis Ancestry and Anishinaabe Spirituality, won the Beatrice Mosionier Aboriginal Writer of the Year Award, and the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer (Manitoba Book Awards). Currently, she is Project Director on the three-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada study, “Expressions of Métis Spirituality and Religion Across the Homeland.” Dr Fiola is part of the Circle of Editors for Pawaatamihk: Journal of Métis Thinkers, served as a board member for Two-Spirit Manitoba (2018-2025), and is a founding member of the Two-Spirit Michif Local (of the MMF). In 2025, she was selected by Les Femmes Michif Otipimisiwak as a recipient for the Métis Matriarch Award (2025). She serves on the by-laws committee for the Métis Thinkers Network.