Barbara Filion is Program Officer for Culture at the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, supporting Canada’s work on the UN Decade of Indigenous Languages with a working group of language champions from coast to coast to coast.
Her career has focused on advancing cultural sovereignty across education, museology, cultural policy, and language revitalization, supporting First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people in telling their own stories.
She has worked on TRC Call to Action 67, the national review of museum policies and practices, as Reconciliation Director at the Canadian Museums Association and now as a member of its Indigenous Council.
Barbara grew up in La Mauricie, Quebec, and is a member of Pekuakamiulnuatsh First Nation (Ilnu, Mashteuiatsh) through her father and grandmother.
"This work honours our ancestors' strength, reclaims cultural and linguistic vibrancy for today's and future generations; supporting the health and well-being of our communities, lands, and waters. It forges peaceful and sovereign relationships with Canada, a responsibility we all share, and one that makes us all stronger for upholding."
Barbara Filion