Dorene Bernard, is a Mi’kmaq grandmother of 9, mother of 4, and Mi’kmaki Grassroots Grandmother, water protector, land defender, water walker and cultural teacher. She draws her strength and courage from the Indigenous women in her life; Survivors of Residential School, Elders, teachers, leaders, movers and shakers who inspired her to work in social work, social justice, with Survivors of Residential School, on Mi’kmaq Treaty Rights, resisting Environmental Racism and awareness of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives, and the protection of the Water and climate justice. She was the Coady Chair on Social Justice at Coady International Institute in 2017, at St. Francis Xavier University in NS, focusing on educating in Indigenous perspectives on many of the issues she has worked on over the years. She worked on collaboration with Tripartite Forum to commemorate the Canadian National Historic Site and Mi’kmaq Heritage Site of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School, on September 30, 2021.