Goverance

Indigenous Nurses Advisory Council

A standing advisory council bringing First Nations, Inuit, and Métis perspectives to the heart of nursing regulation in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

The College acknowledges that its office is located on Chief Drygeese territory, the traditional lands of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation since time immemorial. The College further recognizes that it regulates nursing professions across the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, which includes portions of lands covered by Treaties 8 and 11, the Nunavut Agreement, and Inuit Nunangat. The College is grateful to live and work on these lands and is committed to deepening its understanding of the distinct histories, languages, cultures, and governance systems of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples, including the Dene, Inuit, and Métis of the North.

About the council

Purpose and Mandate

The Indigenous Nurses Advisory Council (INAC) is a standing advisory council established under the Nursing Professions Act (SNWT 2023, s25) and the Nursing Professions Act (SNU 2023, c20), in accordance with CNNN Bylaw 4. The Council advises the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive Officer on matters relating to Indigenous nursing, regulatory equity, and reconciliation — providing guidance grounded in the lived experience of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis nurses and communities across the territories.

The Council serves in an advisory capacity. All recommendations are non-binding and subject to Board approval.

Council Membership

Meet the Council

Leah MacDonald

RN · Fort Smith, NT

Leah is an Inuk nurse from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, who graduated from Aurora College’s nursing program in 2008 — the last class to receive a diploma. Nursing runs deep in her family: her mother graduated from AVTC in Fort Smith in 1971 as an RNA, pregnant with Leah at the time. Leah began her nursing journey caring for her grandmother in Cambridge Bay in 1999, and has since built her career entirely in Fort Smith, working in emergency, home care, management, and community health. Palliative care is her passion. She is a proud mother, grandmother of two, and foot-care certified nurse who loves the community she has called home since 1990.

Lanita Thrasher, BSN, RN

RN · Paulatuk, NT

Lanita Thrasher is an Inuvialuit Registered Nurse from Paulatuk, Northwest Territories. As a member of the Council, she advocates for culturally safe care, the inclusion of traditional knowledge, and increased educational opportunities for northern students. She maintains strong cultural and family connections through berry picking, fishing, caribou hunting, and navigating the land.

Christina Marie Chakanyuka, BN, MN, PhD

RN · Fort Smith, NT

Christina is a Métis nurse, educator, researcher, and mother of three. A member of the NWT Métis Nation raised in Fort Smith with deep community ties, she is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Victoria. Her work focuses on Indigenous health systems transformation, decolonizing education, and anti-racist nursing praxis, with research centering on intergenerational Indigenous nurse mentorship and traditional wellness as pathways to identity and belonging. She is committed to relational accountability that moves reconciliation into action.

Bertha Harman

RN, RPN · Northwest Territories

Bertha is a psychiatric and registered nurse dedicated to mental health care in the North. Her extensive experience spans clinical work at Stanton Hospital, teaching at Aurora College, and community mental health nursing. A proud member of Treaty 8, she is a passionate advocate for the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples and remains committed to supporting the well-being of her communities.

Jennifer Pitt

RN · Yellowknife, NT

Jennifer is an Inuvialuk registered nurse living, working, and playing in Yellowknife on Chief Drygeese Territory, with her four children. Driven by the need for Indigenous perspectives in health systems, she advocates for culturally safe care and reconciliation through her committee work, and is dedicated to fostering Indigenous-led healthcare and research to create equitable spaces and improved outcomes for Northerners.

Amanda Bradbury

NP · Yellowknife, NT

Amanda Bradbury is a Métis Nurse Practitioner born and raised in Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories. She holds a BSN and a Master of Nursing in Nurse Practitioner Primary Care, with over ten years of diverse clinical experience in northern healthcare. Amanda serves as Executive Director of Hotıì ts’eeda (the NWT SPOR SUPPORT Unit) and as Indigenous Director of the Nurse Practitioner Association of Canada, advancing northern-led health research and nursing leadership. She is committed to culturally safe, accessible care for all Northerners.

Esther Powell

RN · Northwest Territories

Esther Powell carries the Inuk name Maani, given in honour of her great-great-grandmother — a reflection of the deep cultural and ceremonial significance of naming in Inuit tradition.

Raised in Arviat, Nunavut, Esther completed high school in Rankin Inlet before studying at Algonquin College in Ottawa through the Nunavut Sivuniksavut Program, where she focused on Inuit Political History and English. She went on to train as a nurse in Yellowknife through a program affiliated with the University of Victoria.

Her nursing career spans community health, float nursing, and institutional practice across the Kivalliq region — including Arviat, Rankin Inlet, Coral Harbour, Baker Lake, Whale Cove, and Sanikiluaq — and includes a presentation on Northern Nursing and Inuit Culture at the Biennial Custody and Caring Conference in Saskatoon.

Esther was also a Mental Health First Aid Master Trainer for Inuit through the Mental Health Commission of Canada and a board member with the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association and CANNN’s Board.

Non-Voting Member

Megan Wood, MN, RN

CEO & Registrar, CNNN · Non-Voting

Megan Wood is the Chief Executive Officer and Registrar of CNNN, a role she has held since June 2024. A Registered Nurse with a Master of Nursing and more than a decade of healthcare leadership experience, Megan has lived and worked on Chief Drygeese Territory, the traditional lands of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, since 2015. Her career spans clinical nursing, quality assurance, and senior leadership in mental wellness and addictions recovery with the Government of the Northwest Territories. As CEO and Registrar, she leads CNNN’s work to protect the public interest, strengthen health regulation, and build collaborative relationships with regulatory partners across Canada — including advancing equity-centred approaches to AI in regulation. She serves as a non-voting member of the Indigenous Nurses Advisory Council.

Research & Project Members

The following members contribute to the Council’s work in a project-based research capacity.

Dr. Prerna Krishan

Research Member · Yellowknife, NT

Dr. Prerna Krishan is a public health professional and researcher with over a decade of experience in health systems evaluation, program monitoring, and evidence-informed policy development across Canada and internationally. She currently serves as Mental Health and Addictions Specialist with the Government of the Northwest Territories, leading performance measurement, program evaluation, and the integration of best practices in mental health and addictions services across the territory. Her research portfolio includes peer-reviewed publications on COVID-19 epidemiology and urban health, contributions to the UNCOVER Review Registry in partnership with McMaster University, and policy briefs for the WHO. She holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Edinburgh and brings multilingual, cross-cultural expertise to her work in northern and Indigenous health contexts.

Andréanne Robitaille

Research Member · Yellowknife, NT

Andréanne obtained her nursing licence in 2004 and has since held roles spanning clinical nursing, management, advising, and education. She currently serves as Research Program Director at the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research, where her work focuses on health in northern and Indigenous communities. A white settler of French ancestry born and raised in Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, she now lives with her family in Yellowknife.

Amélie

Research Member

Amélie Duval serves as Deputy Registrar at the College of Nurses, where she supports regulatory excellence and public protection. As a member of the Indigenous Council Committee, she contributes by sharing de-identified and aggregated registration data to support evidence-informed discussions and help inform the College’s standards, policies, and decisions. Though not Indigenous, Amélie is committed to listening, learning, and advancing reconciliation through respectful collaboration. Originally from Yellowknife NT, she enjoys spending time on the land and water on both Chief Drygeese Territory, the traditional homeland of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, and in Valemount BC, on the unceded traditional territory of the Simpcw First Nation of the Secwépemc Nation, where she enjoys skiing, snowmobiling, and paddling.

Share your voice

Help Shape Our Priorities

The Indigenous Nurses Advisory Council is here to listen. We invite Indigenous nurses and community members across the Northwest Territories and Nunavut to share what matters most to you.

Goverance

Terms of Reference

The full Terms of Reference outline the Council’s mandate, membership structure, decision-making authority, and reporting requirements.

Indigenous Nurses Advisory Council

A standing advisory council bringing First Nations, Inuit, and Métis perspectives to the heart of nursing regulation in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Purpose and Mandate