Shannon Monk

CEO at Sakatay Global and Mi'kmaq Cultural Tourism Project Manager at Kwilmu'kw Maw klusuaqn Negotiation Office (KMKNO)-Mi'kmaq Rights Initiative, Nova Scotia, Canada

Shannon Monk is the Mi’kmaw Cultural Tourism Project Manager for Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiation Office (KMKNO) working on behalf of the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs.

The focus of this project has been the development of Authenticity Guidelines and an authenticity trademark to ensure Mi’kmaw stories, traditions, culture, heritage, and ceremonies are protected and shared in a respectful and meaningful way.

Shannon’s academic accreditation includes a Graduate Degree in Public Administration with a focus on Indigenous Policy and Governance from Queen’s University, along with a Bachelor of Arts in Native Studies, and a Bachelor of Education from Brandon University. 

Shannon has been a leader and innovator in Indigenous Education for over 35 years throughout Canada. This has included experience as a teacher and principal on reserve in northern Manitoba, adult educator in Nova Scotia, Indigenous Education Coordinator in the Northwest Territories, and Policy Analyst for the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) in Ontario, in both the Education and Residential Schools secretariats.  Through her consulting and cultural education business, Sakatay Global, Shannon created the Indigenous Circle Approach to Cultural Confidence™ as a framework for reconciliation.  She also led a number of high-profile national projects for the AFN, YMCA Canada, Pathways to Education Canada, Apple Canada, Canada C3, Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada, the Rideau Hall Foundation, amongst many others. 

Shannon is a Mi’kmaw woman with roots on her mother’s side from Lennox Island, PEI, Celtic roots on her father’s side from the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia, and a member of St. Theresa Point First Nation, a fly-in community in northern Manitoba.  

Instilling a sense of identity and pride in our youth through the preservation and reclamation of Indigenous culture has been the core of Shannon’s work.  She has four children and two grandchildren and is passionate about creating a better world for our next generations.