About CFN

Elected President of the Haida Nation and a member of the Ts’aahl Eagle Clan, Gaagwiis has been involved in the governance of the Haida Nation since 2010. He has served the community as a manager, leader and educator, including managing Haida Heritage sites, visitor interactions, tourism infrastructure and planning related to Haida culture and language, and Indigenous tourism development on Haida Gwaii, the Northern BC region and provincially.

Gaagwiis was one of inaugural instructors of the Haida Gwaii Higher Education Society (Haida Gwaii Semester in Reconciliation Studies) and is a graduate of Royal Roads University with MA in Tourism Management. His Masters research project examined the landmark Gwaii Haanas Agreement as a demonstration of reconciliation in action. His research, which explored the effectiveness of the agreement at meeting employment and training objectives from a Haida community perspective, was recognized with a Governor Generals Gold Medal award in 2018.

During his time with the Council of the Haida Nation, Gaagwiis has served on SGaan Kinghlas/Bowie Seamount management board and as a member of the Archipelago Management Board of Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site.

Bruce Reece has been a proud community member serving as a leader for years. He currently manages the Gitga’at Guardian team and lives in Hartley Bay. Bruce carries full knowledge of the territory and engages and reviews marine safety, and always encourages education for our youth.

Bio to come

Bio to Come

Bio to come

For more than two decades, Doug Neasloss has worked to protect wildlife and ecosystems in Kitasoo Xai’xais territory and throughout the Great Bear Rainforest. For 11 years, he has acted as both Chief Councillor and Stewardship Director for the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation.

Doug played a central role in helping the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation become a leading example of sustainable ecotourism, driven by the success of the Spirit Bear Lodge and a strong commitment to stewarding the region’s abundant cultural and natural resources. He shared the same commitment to cultural and environmental stewardship as a past representative with other organizations and planning bodies, including the Minister’s Wildlife Advisory Council, Nature United and Destination BC.

As a strong voice for protecting iconic bears in Kitasoo Xai’xais territory and across BC, Doug played a lead role in the successful effort to end trophy hunting in the Great Bear Rainforest and across BC. He remains the Executive Director for the Spirit Bear Research Foundation and Board member for the Grizzly Bear Foundation.

Elected Chief Councillor of the Nuxalk Nation, Tlhmtimut Samuel Schooner has served eight years as an elected Nuxalk council member and eight years as a director with the Central Coast Regional District, three of those as its Chair.

Samuel is a strong advocate for training in trades and participated in the Nuxalk Nation’s innovative on-site four-year carpentry training program with Camosun College and the Industry Training Authority. In 2020, 12 Nuxalk carpenters graduated from their four-year apprenticeships and many went on to complete their Red Seal Certification. The program has resulted in several new housing units built for community members, by community members.

During his first term as Chief Councillor, Samuel remains committed to building his Nation’s potential through sustainable economic development, community-based education and training, and upholding Nuxalk’s longstanding assertion of rights and title in their territory.

Elected Chief Councillor of the Heiltsuk Tribal Council, K̓áwáziɫ Marilyn Slett is President of CFN-GBI, a Board Director for the BC Assembly of First Nations and a member of the Vancouver Coastal Health Board of Directors. She previously held the position of the BC Assembly of First Nations Women’s Representative on the National Assembly of First Nations Women’s Council and Co-Chair of the Wild Salmon Advisory Council.

As Chief Councillor, Marilyn has worked tirelessly to protect Heiltsuk title and rights and the health of coastal ecosystems, since the Heiltsuk way of life depends fundamentally on the latter. She led the Nation through the catastrophic and ongoing effects of the Nathan E. Stewart tugboat spill in a culturally important harvesting area in Heiltsuk territory and participated in the Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River to protect sockeye salmon.

Marilyn was a strong voice in opposing the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Project, which was eventually quashed, and she played a lead role in ensuring the passage of the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, legislation that now protects the North Pacific Coast from oil spills.

Chief Danielle Shaw was elected to lead the first all-woman council of the Wuikinuxv Nation in 2020. Before becoming Chief Councillor, Danielle worked toward self-governance and growth for the Nation in diverse ways, including her role as Wuikinuxv Stewardship Director until 2019. Danielle studied at the School of Business at Capilano University for business administration, and has applied those learnings to support her Nation in many areas, including treaty development, a traditional foods and Wuikinuxv Health Administration.

In 2020, Danielle was awarded the Murray A. Newman Award for Significant Achievement in Aquatic Conservation, which recognized her dedicated contributions to marine protected areas, integration frameworks reflecting Indigenous Ways of Knowing, sustainable policy and advocacy contributions, and leadership of the Wuikinuxv Nation.

Born and raised on Haida Gwaii, Billy Yovanovich has remained committed to protecting and sustainably managing the region’s cultural and natural resources his entire life.

Billy has been a leading voice with the Skidegate Band Council for 12 years, first as an Elected Councillor and now as the current Chief Councillor, and he has shared his strong commitment for cultural and environmental stewardship as a Board member with Coastal First Nations for most of that time.

Since 2017, Billy has acted as a Director with the Gwaii Trust Society, which helps to manage a multi-million-dollar fund for the benefit of all people of Haida Gwaii. In his spare time, Billy is an avid fisherman.