Welcome & Keynote

William Morin / Kiiwedinong Enoset Ma'iingan is a multi-media artist and an engaging educator. He is of Ojibway / Scottish / French Canadian ancestry and a citizen of the Michipicoten First Nation, Ontario, Canada. Will lives and works in Northern Ontario, Canada, with his wife Robin Wemigwans, their four children, and one grandson. He has been teaching Indigenous Studies for nearly thirty years at various Universities and Colleges in Ontario, notably the University of Sudbury, Laurentian University, McEwan School of Architecture and Cambrian College. He has also taught Anishinaabe Language Fundamentals at all grade levels with the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.
Will continues to guest lecture and teach at post-secondary institutes across Ontario, such as Canadore College, Nipissing University, and Queen’s University in the Kenjgewin Teg Indigenous Institute. An annual contributor to the Anishinaabemowin Teg Language conference for 30 years, he infuses Anishinaabemowin / language learning into all his storytelling and academic presentations.

Currently, Will is serving as the first Indigenous Arts & Cultural Advisor (IACA) for YES Theatre: Anishinaabek Mizinbiigew Oshkaabewis (AMO). He also works as an Indigenous Cultural Advisor and Knowledge Carrier for Science North, SnoLab, Laurentian University Dorian Planetarium, and the Ontario Provincial Court – Indigenous Peoples Court.

Will has facilitated Indigenous Cultural Awareness Training for over 20 years with clients such as: Greater City of Sudbury Police, Greater Sudbury Paramedic Services, Compass Child and Family Services, Kina Gbezhgomi Child and Family Services, Nogdawindamin Family and Community Services, Noojmowin Teg Health Centre, Service Canada Ontario, Rainbow District School Board, Sudbury Catholic District School Board, Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario: Accueil, Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord, and others provincially.

Will has performed nationally and internationally as a storyteller and spoken word artist, sharing traditional Anishinaabek stories and teachings. He is an accomplished and award-winning visual mixed-media artist who exhibits nationally. “The works of art I create reuse / recycle anything through a diversity of media with themes, spiritual in nature, that honour both our Anishinaabe traditions and a respect for the earth.”

In his youth, Will went from Army Cadets to the Infantry Reserves before serving as a Medical Assistant in the Canadian Armed Forces from 1986-87 and 1990-91, during the first Gulf War, receiving the Canadian Forces Indigenous Veteran Service Medal.
After serving, he obtained his B.F.A. from NSCAD in Halifax, B.A. in Native Studies from the University of Sudbury, his B. Ed (Aboriginal Teachers Certification Program) from Nipissing University, and a Master’s (M.A.) in Humanities from Laurentian University. He is currently completing his Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Human Studies (ABD) at Laurentian University.

In 2012, Will received the Heroic Action Award from the Greater City of Sudbury: Police Services, where he was wounded while attempting to stop a robbery. In 2016, Will was awarded the YMCA Sudbury: Peacemaker Award, and in 2023, he was awarded the Governor General’s Commendation for Bravery.