Shady Hafez is Algonquin Anishinabe from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg and Syrian. He is a passionate advocate for the liberation of Indigenous nations through the revitalization of Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Beyond his current position at the National Association of Friendship Centres, Shady is also an instructor in the Indigenous Wellness and Addictions Program at Canadore College and a Yellowhead Research Fellow. In his spare time Shady is an avid writer, commentator, dancer and learner/practitioner of Anishinabe arts, culture and land-based practice which he hopes to pass on to his amazing daughter, Ayah.