Shannon Georgopoulos née Ballendine, is a Métis Citizen and has lived and worked in Cranbrook for 36 years. She discovered in 2012 that she is Métis, and went on the task of tracking down her family genealogy, history, and what the Métis cultural is. Her proud Métis
ancestral heritage is Cree, Scottish and Norwegian. Her family names include of Ballendine, Cardinal, Ermineskin, Fiddler, Blondeau and Sayers. Some of her Métis family laid roots in Battleford, Saskatchewan in the late 1800s and had an integral part in the earlier fur trades.

She is also proud of her ancestors for being honored for their part in WW2, earning a chapter called, The Fighting Ballendine’s in the Elinor Florence book – My Favorite Veterans. She is humbled to have been chosen to be a part of the Rocky Mountain Métis board of directors and hopes to be a part of building the community, connecting with the region and fostering relationships within it.

Shannon is an avid reader, loves scary movies, trivia, travelling, and most  recently has picked up
fish scale art and beading. “I consider myself to be a life longer learner and have just started to learn about our local herbology and its medicinal benefits.” She is a part of the College of the Rockies alumni and an international host family. If you don’t find her at home, you’ll find her enjoying the beautiful traditional lands of the Ktunaxa first nations with her family and friends.

I am married to my wonderful husband of 51 years. We have 2 grown children and 3 grandchildren. I moved to Cranbrook 43 years ago to take the position of Head Nurse of Psychiatry. I was involved in the functional planning and the building of the Psychiatric Unit. Once the inpatient unit was opened, I then started the Psychiatric Out Patient Department which eventually amalgamated with Mental Health.  I specialized in group and individual therapy with a major focus on borderline personality disorder (now known as Emotional Dysregulation Disorder) and working with individuals who experienced psychological trauma. I led Assertive Training groups for forty years which I think will be an asset in my work on the board.

Due to prejudices and my mother’s experiences in residential day school I was shielded from the knowledge of my Metis heritage. I was 14 when I learned that we had indigenous heritage but my siblings and I kept this information to ourselves. My daughter was instrumental in researching our heritage.  I have heard many Metis mention just 3 family names related to their heritage however I will share my family line differently. My maternal grandfather’s lineage is Laberge, Lafournaise,  Larocque, L’Iroquois,  Laberge, and Larence. 

My maternal grandmother’s lineage is Grant, Morin, Guiboche, Ganon, and McIvor. Since becoming a citizen of MNBC I have come to realize many Metis cultural practices were an everyday part of my upbringing.  The food, the music, caring for others and sewing skills were
some of those practices.

Currently I am the Training & Career Counselor for Mètis Nation BC in the Skills Training, Education, post-secondary (STEPS) department. I have been in my role for over 4 years now and my passion for this work has only increased as I see our citizens succeeding in their dreams with their career journeys. Also, it is with great respect that I was able to serve as the community navigator for Rocky Mountain Mètis Association in 2019 and assist with community needs.

My greatest love is to empower citizens by supporting them in their education journey and guiding them in culture. During my role I have been able to create community relationships throughout my regional area and make connections for students, employers, schools, colleges and stakeholders from Cranbrook to Grand forks, to Golden. I always look for ways to strengthen my
knowledge with taking an training that is available for me, currency through my community and work I have been able to take training such; Gender Bias training, Lateral kindness, suicide prevention, to name a few.
I grew up a local, living in Wardner and moving to Jaffray in grade 4.

I then moved to the coast in a beautiful location, Chilliwack, BC for 25 years where I gained my schooling and life skills. My passion to help others started with my volunteer work in the local retirement homes with sharing my knowledge of crafting with guiding and teaching residents. My overall passion is painting,
which I discovered in 2017 and have painted over 100 paintings using the acrylic art form but I also discovered my love of Spray paint art while on vacation in Mexico. In the last 10 years I have delved more into my cultural crafts and learning more about my culture.

Tansi! My name is Hannah Fenner I use she/her pronouns. I have lived here in Cranbrook almost my whole life. I was raised knowing about my Métis heritage from my Mom and Kokum. I was also taught how to jig by Amy Cross when I was 8 years old. I currently am a student at the College of the Rockies and studying biology with hopes of working in the health sciences.

I am thankful for this opportunity with RMMA and I look forward to increasing my involvement in the community.

My name is Linda Miller, I currently live in Cranbrook BC. I am a retired chef, mother of 2 grandmother of 5. I was born and raised in Watrous Saskatchewan. When I was 16 we moved to BC. I have always known that I was Metis, but never really knew what that meant. This last 5 years has been the biggest learning adventure of my life. I look forward to many many more. I look forward to serving the citizens of our Association.

Shay was born and raised in Cranbrook BC. Her childhood was filled with lots of love and time spent outdoors. Some of her fondest memories are time spent camping and fishing with her family or spending time in the garden with her Grandparents in PA, Saskatchewan. Shay has always lived in the Kootenays and resides here now. She is very proud to be Metis. Her Metis roots are in the Lindsey District, Saskatchewan, and stem from the Red River Settlement, Manitoba. Her descendants are parents Cindy and Allan Atwood and Grandparents Gordan and Silvia Pocha and Alvin and Beatrice Atwood.  

Shay is honoured to be a Metis Citizen and now works as a Community Navigator for the Rocky Mountain Metis Association here in beautiful Cranbrook BC. She is proud to be a part of the community and knows she is making her Grandparents proud that she has embraced her Metis heritage. Some of Shay’s hobbies include but are not limited to fly tying, making dreamcatchers, looming jewelry, gardening, aquascaping, dirt biking, hiking, fishing, foraging & shopping.

People who know Shay would say she is strong, kind, funny, compassionate, and caring.  She hopes to set roots down in the Kootenays one day but in the meantime will be just living life on life’s terms.

Taanishi kiya
Debbie McPhee dishinikaashoon.
Aen Community Cultural Services Coordinator niiya.
My role is working with the Rocky Mountain Métis Association to develop systems that will
support a thriving association.

I spent 30+ years in Indigenous Education where I worked to influence the education system to
reflect and include Indigenous ways of knowing. I developed and implemented an Elders in
Residence program which has become embedded into the school system as a district Elders
Program. Most importantly, I remain grateful for what I was taught, what was shared with me,
the laughter and the life-long friends I made in my time spent in the communities of the
Ktunaxa Nation especially ‘aq’am and the Métis Associations and through the education
system.

I am a Restorative Justice practitioner and trainer with over 20 years of experience. Based on
my restorative justice experience, I strive to include restorative practices in my work to bring
harmony and peace to the Rocky Mountain Métis Association while completing my tasks.

Moon faamii (my family) is the most important thing in my life. I am proud to be a maryii (wife),
maamaa (mother), koohkoom (grandmother), fii (daughter), seur (sister), taant (auntie), and
yayns (niece). We enjoy the outdoors, exploring the East Kootenays on our side by side, hiking,
fly fishing, camping and cooking over an open fire. I love to read and to learn.