Nasuʔkin Cheryl Casimer – ʔaqⱡsmaknik piȼak paⱡkiy
Nasuʔkin Cheryl Casimer is a citizen of the Ktunaxa Nation and lives in her community of ʔaq’am, located in the southeastern corner of British Columbia near Cranbrook. She is a mother of three and a grandmother to five, which is her drive to build a better and brighter future for her family and generations to come. Cheryl is a tireless advocate for true reconciliation, human rights, treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements, MMIWG2SLGBTQIA, and government accountability and transparency.
Cheryl is currently serving her fourth consecutive term on the First Nations Summit (FNS) Task Group as an elected Political Executive, and as a part of this role, also serves on the BC First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC), where she is the FNS lead on Child and Family and Health issues.
Through her position on the FNLC, Cheryl is a recipient of the Perry Shawana award recognizing her leadership in advocating for systemic change in the child welfare system to include full recognition of First Nations jurisdiction and authority. She is also the FNLC representative on the In Plain Sight Task Team, which is responsible for implementing the recommendations from the In Plain Sight Report to address the systemic racism within the health care sector.
She has played an integral role in the establishment of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), and continues to advocate for the implementation of the DRIPA Action Plan. Cheryl was also appointed by the Assembly of First Nations’ BC Regional Chief to the national AFN Ad-Hoc Chiefs Committee on the federal United Nations Declaration Act (UNDA), mandated to assist in the development of the legislation and Action Plan.
Cheryl was recently re-appointed to the Ministers Poverty Reduction Advisory Committee, having contributed to the development of BC’s first Poverty Reduction Strategy and continues to work with the committee on plan implementation and monitoring.
Councillor Julie Birdstone
Julie Birdstone has been on the ʔaq̓am Council since 2016. She holds a seat on the ʔaq̓am Knowledge Holders and Language Speaker Committee and the ʔaq̓am Language Authority. Her day job is with the Ktunaxa Kinbasket Child and Family services since 1998 in several different capacities over the years. In her down time she is involved in cultural activities including sharing her knowledge in sewing regalia or dancing if she isn’t at some powwow dancing.
Councillor Jason Andrew
Councillor Jason Andrew was elected as Councillor for ʔaq̓am in October 2018. Jason is a proud Ktunaxa member and has lived in the area his whole life. He has worked for the Ktunaxa Nation Council and the St. Eugene Golf Resort & Casino for over a decade. Jason was the chair of the ʔaq̓am Community Enterprise Board of Directors for three years, he is the Vice-chair of the ʔaq̓am Education Committee and he holds a seat on the BC ATEAM. He also holds a seat on the ʔaq̓am Lands Committee. In his personal time, Jason likes to hunt with his Dad and is continuing to learn the Ktunaxa language.
Councillor Sancira Steelgun
Councillor Sancira Williams-Jimmy was elected to the position of Councillor for ʔaq̓am in October 2020.
Councillor Dallas Cardinal-Clement
Councillor Dallas Cardinal was elected to the position of Councillor for ʔaq̓am in October 2022.