Dorene Bernard is a grassroots grandmother from the Sipekne’katik band in Mi’kmak’i. She is a water protector, water walker, and survivor of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School. Her background is in Aboriginal Social Work where she had worked for 20 years in Child Welfare and Community Support for Residential School Survivors. She was the Coady International Institute Chair in Social Justice 2017, sharing her teachings on Environmental Racism, Climate Justice, Residential School legacy and social justice issues, including child welfare, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women/Girls, Climate Justice and Water teachings, inspired and mentored by the late Grandmother Josephine Mandamin, Mother Earth Water Walker. She is featured with other grassroots grandmothers and water protectors in the Environmental Racism documentary on Netflix, There’s Something in the Water, produced by Ellen Page and Ian Daniel.

As we witness and experience the impacts of a climate crisis, global pandemic, and injustices it may be easy to lose hope. Carolynne will focus upon breaking down colonial ways of thinking that intentionally try to separate people from the Earth, by creating an opportunity for reflection and individual change. She will share Indigenous perspectives from Elders in her life that guide people to move through grief and into hope while building responsible and reciprocal relations with the waters and all of their relations