Our Team

Satsan (Herb George)

President

Satsan (Herb George) is a Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief of the Frog Clan and a long-time Speaker for the Wet’suwet’en Nation. A nationally respected leader in the movement to realize the inherent right of Indigenous Peoples to self-government, Satsan has over 40 years of experience working towards recognition and respect for the inherent right to self-government in the courts, classrooms, and communities.

Early in his career, Satsan was a key figure and strategist in the Delgamuukw-Gisdayway decision, which ruled, for the first time, that Aboriginal Title and rights exist in law and are recognized and protected under section 35. Following the decision, Satsan went on to serve two terms as BC Regional Chief to the Assembly of First Nations. He has lent his deep experience and expertise to develop educational programming around Aboriginal and Treaty rights and the inherent right to self-government in universities across Canada.

In 2005, Satsan founded and became President of the National Centre for First Nations Governance (now the Centre for First Nations Governance) where he has spent the last two decades supporting First Nations across Canada to reclaim and implement their governance systems, revitalize their laws, and transition out from under the Indian Act.

Satsan is also Co-Director of the Rebuilding First Nations Governance project, a national research partnership that provides strategic direction and directs applied research and analysis to support First Nations governments who are working to leave behind Indian Act administration.

He holds an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Victoria and, in 2025, was awarded the Ecotrust Indigenous Leadership Award for his lifetime of work advancing and transforming Indigenous self-governance globally.

Darcy Gray

Executive Director

dgray@fngovernance.org

Darcy Gray is the Executive Director of the Centre for First Nations Governance (CFNG) and a Mi’gmaq leader from Listuguj, in Gespe’gewa’gi, Mi’gma’gi. A former three-term Chief of the Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government, Darcy brings extensive practical experience advancing inherent rights, Indigenous governance, and Nation rebuilding.

 
From 2016 to 2022, Darcy served as Chief of Listuguj, helping lead significant advances in governance, jurisdiction, and community development. During his leadership, Listuguj advanced community and land use planning and developed laws and policies in areas including fisheries, elections, housing, cannabis, and drinking water protection. Darcy was also a signatory to the Rights Reconciliation Agreement on Fisheries between Listuguj and Canada, which recognized Listuguj’s laws and authority in fisheries governance.
 
Darcy also brings nearly 15 years of experience in education, working both within Listuguj and in the New Brunswick provincial education system. This experience continues to inform his approach to leadership, community engagement, and building strong institutions that reflect First Nations priorities.
 
Now at CFNG, Darcy works nationally with First Nations advancing the transition from Indian Act administration toward governance grounded in their inherent rights. He brings the perspective of someone who has led this work within his own Nation, combining experience in elected leadership, Indigenous jurisdiction, intergovernmental relations, education, policy, and community engagement.

Erin Alexiuk

Managing Director

ealexiuk@fngovernance.org

Erin is a seasoned researcher-practitioner with over 10 years of experience working with changemakers in the non-profit sector with a focus on strategic operations, impact sustainability, and strategic partnerships. Erin joined the CFNG team in 2016, bringing her expertise in systems change to drive impact across Canada. Erin, of Finnish and Ukrainian ancestry, is an active member of the research community as both a Research Associate with the Waterloo Institute for Social Innovation and Resilience and a senior PhD candidate in the School of Environment, Resources, and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo.

Erin holds a Master’s in Environmental Studies and a BSc in Environmental Science. She is grateful to live with her family in the Robinson-Huron Treaty Area within the beautiful territory of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek Nation outside of Sudbury, Ontario.

Amsey Maracle

On Leave of Absence

 

Louis Frank

Research Associate

lfrank@fngovernance.org

Louis is a Research Associate with the Centre for First Nations Governance, where he brings a strong grounding in environmental studies and political economy to his work on the implementation of inherent rights governance. He previously worked as a Research Assistant with the Rebuilding First Nations Governance project and is currently completing a Master’s degree in Geography at the University of Ottawa.

His research focuses on the intersection of environment and political economy, particularly the evolving relationships between Indigenous peoples, Canadian governments, and the private sector in the context of rapid global change. His academic work has explored global climate policy, science policy, and Arctic shipping in relation to environmental change.

Louis is a settler of Ashkenazi Jewish, English, and Swiss ancestry and lives in Tkaronto (Toronto, Ontario) on the traditional territory of many First Nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat, along with being the present home of many diverse Indigenous Peoples. Today, Louis continues to engage with the governance histories and agreements that shape the place he calls home, including the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Covenant, Treaty 13, the Williams Treaties, and the Toronto Purchase Land Claim.

 

Narayan Subramoniam

Research Associate

nsubramoniam@fngovernance.org

Narayan Subramoniam (he/him) is a racialized settler-immigrant who grew up in Bahrain and migrated to Canada as a teenager. He now lives in Toronto which is on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

Narayan is a recent graduate of Wilred Laurier University, earning his Master’s of Environmental Studies while associated with the Northern Sustainable Food Systems Research Group. With an undergraduate background in Mathematics (BMath, University of Waterloo) and Business (BBA, Wilfrid Laurier University), he brings a multi-disciplinary approach towards supporting community projects at several scales.

He hopes to bring his positionality, educational background, and experience from both private and public sectors towards his role as a Research Associate working on the Rebuilding First Nations Governance project.

Jonathan Lapalme

Strategic Designer / Thought Partner 

Jonathan Lapalme is a serial social entrepreneur, strategic designer, systems thinker and participatory futurism filmmaker. 

With a master’s degree in Design and Urban Ecologies from Parsons, The New School for Design, and a bachelor’s degree in Cultural and Media Production from Université du Québec à Montréal, Jonathan has been working for over 15 years on the design of processes and strategies related to various types of socio-ecological challenges.

In recent years, he has co-founded and activated several organizations and initiatives, including Dark Matter Labs Canada, Nouveaux Voisins, Office of Rules and Norms, LICER, Entremise, H-MTL/Memento, Les Matérialistes and the Faculty of Ignorance.  

He has been collaborating with the Center for First Nations Governance since 2019; primarily around questions of regulatory innovation and property rights and responsibilities in Canada. Since 2024, he has supported our teams organizational development and leads our participatory futurisms future planning work. 

Chris Robertson

Strategic Advisor / Facilitator

Chris Robertson has over 18 years of experience specializing in community economic and organizational development, professional management, public communications, strategic planning, governance, lands and resources support with First Nation communities, governments and businesses. Chris, of Gitxsan ancestry, includes in his extensive experience being Executive Director for the Office of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs, Senior advisor to the AFN, BC Regional Chief, COO of the National Centre for First Nations Governance and Band Administrator for the Musqueam First Nation. He is a former Board Director for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. Chris was COO of NCFNG (National Centre for First Nations Governance), our predecessor organization.

Pawa Haiyupis

Facilitator

Pawatsqwachiitl Haiyupis is a member of the Ahousaht First Nation on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Over the past 10 years Pawa has developed a diversity of professional skills from her work experience with First Nations people in relation to stewardship and the environment. Much of Pawa’s work has focused on facilitating dialogues on all aspects of governance, leadership and nation rebuilding. A major focus of her work is developing and implementing emerging leadership events, workshops and think tanks for youth. Pawa is committed to the Centre’s philosophy of creating new memories for our children and this philosophy guides her work at the community level. Pawa’s areas of training include First Nations Studies and Environmental Science with a focus on Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Traditional Governance and Coastal Ecology.