Secretary Shannon Dunfield is originally from the Indigenous community of Kelly Lake and has called Grande Prairie and the surrounding area home for over 30 years. She proudly carries her Métis heritage on both sides of her family, with maternal roots in the Gladue/Whitford families and paternal roots in the Belcourt/Gauthier families.

With a master’s degree and over three decades of experience in education, health, sport, and the not-for-profit sector, Shannon has dedicated her life to uplifting others. She is also a proud mom to two amazing children, Tutchone and Takoda, and has been married to her husband Ken for more than 25 years.

As an avid volunteer for more than 30 years, Secretary Dunfield has been involved with many not-for-profit organizations, specifically focused on the health and sport fields. Her dedication to supporting youth and Indigenous communities led her to get involved in Indigenous sport in 2014. Since then, she has made a tremendous impact.

She has served as Chair of Indigenous Sport Council Alberta since 2018, was honoured to be President of the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) Council from 2020-2023 and joined the Board of the 2027 Host Society in 2024. She was a panelist at the inaugural Reconciliation through Sport event hosted by Canada’s Sport Hall of Fame in 2021 and played a key role in bringing the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships to Alberta for the first time in the tournament’s history. She will also be receiving an Esquao Award in June, which recognizes Indigenous women in Alberta for their achievements in sports.

In her role as Secretary of Records, Secretary Dunfield ensures that records are kept, verified, and maintained in accordance with Otipemisiwak Métis Government Law. She leads the Government’s work to maintain accurate, up-to-date information through the Public Registry, making it accessible for all Citizens.

One of her key accomplishments has been helping to develop a user-friendly Public Registry process. Thanks to the collaboration with the Self-Government and Communications departments within the Otipemisiwak Métis Government, this process is almost complete and will have direct links to legislation, bills, Judicial Tribunal decisions, Citizens’ Council minutes, Citizens’ Gathering information, and other important archives.