Scott Wabano
Creative Director | TV & Podcast Host | Advocate
Dr. Candace Manitopyes
Indigenous Educator | Founder, Relentless Indigenous Woman Co. (RIW Co.)
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Book Dr. Candace Manitopyes, Education Speaker
About This Speaker
Dr. Candace Manitopyes (née Linklater) stands as one of today’s most compelling Indigenous voices. As the founder and CEO of Relentless Indigenous Woman Co., she connects the worlds of education, leadership, and social change. A proud Moose Cree woman, she brings a blend of lived experience and academic excellence to every room she enters. Her work is deeply rooted in the legacy of her grandfather, a historical chief and descendant of a Treaty 9 signatory. This legacy fuels her unwavering commitment to Indigenous sovereignty and transformative education.
Her extensive academic and professional journey laid the foundation for her impactful work. Dr. Candace Manitopyes earned a PhD in Educational Leadership, where her award-nominated dissertation delivered vital research on creating queer-responsive, land-based leadership in schools for Indigenous 2SLGBTQ+ students. Before her doctoral studies, she built a career on the front lines of community development. She worked as an early childhood educator, an elementary teacher, and an elected official. In her role as Vice Chair of the Moose Cree Education Authority, she tirelessly advocated for a culturally empowered and community-centered education system. Consequently, this role gave her profound insight into the systems that require transformation.
Today, Dr. Candace Manitopyes is the driving force behind Relentless Indigenous Woman Co. (RIW Co.), a globally recognized consulting company. Through RIW Co., she offers powerful workshops, keynotes, and decolonial curriculum development. These services provide teams with the tools for Indigenous solidarity and help move beyond performative allyship toward actionable justice.
Dr. Candace Manitopyes’ influence extends through her popular podcast, Relentless Indigenous Woman, where she explores education as a form of rebellion. She engages in unfiltered conversations with other leading Indigenous changemakers. This platform, combined with her social media presence of over 750,000 followers, amplifies her message of empowerment. She unpacks colonialism, shares insights on healing, and celebrates Native humor.
Above all, Dr. Candace Manitopyes’ ability to combine academic rigor with heart, humor, and truth defines her unique approach. From her innovative frameworks to her sessions on land-based somatic practices, she offers refreshing alternatives to outdated models. Book Candace Manitopyes to transform your organization with truth, fire, and a clear, inspiring path toward real and lasting change.
Contact an agent to get Dr. Manitopyes's availability and ratesSpeaking Topics: Dr. Candace Manitopyes
Eco-Somatic Practices to Support Children and Youth 
This workshop offers educators a powerful, land-based approach to supporting nervous system regulation in children and youth, especially those who are neurodivergent or emotionally dysregulated. Led by Dr. Candace Manitopyes (née Linklater), a Moose Cree educator, somatic coach, and nationally recognized leader in decolonial education, this session blends Indigenous knowledge systems with trauma-informed, eco-somatic techniques. Participants will learn how to use nature as a co-regulator, guiding students through breathwork, movement, and sensory-based mindfulness practices that are easy to implement in school settings.
Rooted in Dr. Manitopyes' lived experience and award-nominated research, this workshop reframes wellness through a culturally grounded lens, shifting from behaviour control to embodied connection. Unlike traditional DEI or SEL frameworks, this session invites participants into a relationship with land as teacher and healer, offering a refreshing and necessary alternative in the education and wellness landscape. Attendees leave with concrete tools, a renewed sense of purpose, and a radically compassionate framework for supporting youth in today’s overwhelmed world.
Great For:
Schools integrating land-based wellness and regulation practices
Educators supporting neurodivergent or emotionally dysregulated students
Teams interested in sensory, movement-based approaches to healing and learning
Rooted in Dr. Manitopyes' lived experience and award-nominated research, this workshop reframes wellness through a culturally grounded lens, shifting from behaviour control to embodied connection. Unlike traditional DEI or SEL frameworks, this session invites participants into a relationship with land as teacher and healer, offering a refreshing and necessary alternative in the education and wellness landscape. Attendees leave with concrete tools, a renewed sense of purpose, and a radically compassionate framework for supporting youth in today’s overwhelmed world.
Great For:
Schools integrating land-based wellness and regulation practices
Educators supporting neurodivergent or emotionally dysregulated students
Teams interested in sensory, movement-based approaches to healing and learning
Honouring Gender Diversity in Schools: An Indigenous Perspective Guide for Educators
This workshop offers educators a clear, compassionate, and decolonial framework for supporting Two-Spirit, IndigiQueer, and LGBTQ students in schools—spaces where gender-diverse youth are often marginalized or erased. Dr. Candace Manitopyes (née Linklater), a Moose Cree scholar, former classroom teacher, and nationally respected voice in Indigenous education, this session unpacks both Indigenous and Western understandings of gender, offering the historical context many DEI trainings leave out. Participants will gain practical tools—like relational language, affirming policies, and responsive lesson plans—while also learning how to advocate within systems that often resist change.
What makes this session different is its grounding in Indigenous sovereignty and queer liberation, not just tolerance or policy compliance. With her background as a trauma-informed somatic coach and her lived experience as a queer Indigenous woman, Dr. Candace Manitopyes brings both professional and personal insight to the table. This workshop transforms uncertainty into confidence, silence into solidarity, and confusion into culturally rooted clarity—equipping educators to lead meaningful, lasting change in their classrooms and communities.
Great for:
Staff learning to support Indigenous Two Spirit, Trans, and gender- diverse students
Schools developing inclusive policies and affirming classroom practices
Educators seeking clarity on pronouns, language, and advocacy frameworks
What makes this session different is its grounding in Indigenous sovereignty and queer liberation, not just tolerance or policy compliance. With her background as a trauma-informed somatic coach and her lived experience as a queer Indigenous woman, Dr. Candace Manitopyes brings both professional and personal insight to the table. This workshop transforms uncertainty into confidence, silence into solidarity, and confusion into culturally rooted clarity—equipping educators to lead meaningful, lasting change in their classrooms and communities.
Great for:
Staff learning to support Indigenous Two Spirit, Trans, and gender- diverse students
Schools developing inclusive policies and affirming classroom practices
Educators seeking clarity on pronouns, language, and advocacy frameworks
Meaningful and Authentic Indigenous Solidarity
This transformative talk helps non-Indigenous teams, institutions, and organizations move from performative allyship to authentic, actionable solidarity with Indigenous Peoples. Led by Dr. Candace Manitopyes (née Linklater)—a Moose Cree academic, educator, and nationally recognized voice in Indigenous sovereignty and relational justice—this session dismantles colonial narratives, challenges surface-level gestures, and replaces them with culturally grounded, relational strategies rooted in reciprocity and accountability. With a PhD in Educational Leadership, decades of lived community experience, and a consulting portfolio that spans schools, governments, and grassroots initiatives, Dr. Manitopyes brings both academic and community-based credibility to the conversation.
What makes this talk different is its bold clarity: it doesn’t tiptoe around discomfort, but instead invites audiences into brave, sustained work rooted in responsibility, not charity. Through clear examples, reflective exercises, and practical frameworks, participants leave with a deeper understanding of their role in upholding or dismantling colonial systems—and with concrete strategies to build trust, center Indigenous voices, and show up with integrity.
Great for:
Non-Indigenous teams committed to moving beyond performative allyship
Institutions engaging in unlearning colonial narratives and rebuilding trust
Organizations seeking practical, relational strategies for the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action
What makes this talk different is its bold clarity: it doesn’t tiptoe around discomfort, but instead invites audiences into brave, sustained work rooted in responsibility, not charity. Through clear examples, reflective exercises, and practical frameworks, participants leave with a deeper understanding of their role in upholding or dismantling colonial systems—and with concrete strategies to build trust, center Indigenous voices, and show up with integrity.
Great for:
Non-Indigenous teams committed to moving beyond performative allyship
Institutions engaging in unlearning colonial narratives and rebuilding trust
Organizations seeking practical, relational strategies for the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action
The Pedagogy of Moss: Our Silent and Strong Teacher
This keynote offers a radically different lens on leadership and education by introducing Pedagogy of Moss—a decolonial framework created by Dr. Candace Manitopyes (née Linklater), a Moose Cree scholar, former elementary educator, and nationally respected voice in Indigenous sovereignty and relational leadership. Rooted in Moose Cree teachings and land-based wisdom, this talk challenges audiences to reimagine success beyond colonial metrics and urgency culture. By turning to moss—a quiet yet powerful teacher in the natural world—Dr. Manitopyes invites educators, leaders, and organizations to reflect on adaptability, reciprocity, and collective care. With a PhD in Educational Leadership and an award-nominated dissertation exploring Indigenous 2SLGBTQ decolonial and Land-based learning, she brings both academic rigour and lived cultural knowledge.
What sets this keynote apart is its refusal to replicate extractive frameworks—it centers Indigenous relationality, ecological intelligence, and the Moose Cree concept of Mino Pimatisiwin (the good life). Audiences leave with a renewed understanding of what it means to lead in right relation—with the Land, with each other, and with future generations.
Great for:
Educators and leaders seeking decolonial frameworks rooted in land-based wisdom
Teams looking to deepen relational leadership and collective reflection
Organizations ready to reimagine success beyond colonial metrics
What sets this keynote apart is its refusal to replicate extractive frameworks—it centers Indigenous relationality, ecological intelligence, and the Moose Cree concept of Mino Pimatisiwin (the good life). Audiences leave with a renewed understanding of what it means to lead in right relation—with the Land, with each other, and with future generations.
Great for:
Educators and leaders seeking decolonial frameworks rooted in land-based wisdom
Teams looking to deepen relational leadership and collective reflection
Organizations ready to reimagine success beyond colonial metrics
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