Catherine Martin

Catherine Anne Martin, BA;MEd.;CM. 

Catherine Martin, is a member of the Millbrook Mi’kmaw Community, Truro, NS.  She is an independent international award winning film producer and director, a writer, facilitator, communications consultant, community activist, teacher, drummer, and the first Mi’kmaw woman filmmaker from the Atlantic region. She is a past Chair of APTN and served on the board for the first five years of its inception. She has contributed to policy and institutional change to make cultural and arts more accessible to First Nations artists.nHer contributions to film, television and digital media in Atlantic Canada were recognized with a WAVE Award from Women in Film and Television Atlantic. She was honoured with a National Peace Award from VOW ( Voices of Women) in November 2016 for her years of work as a peace activist. Catherine has contributed to the development of many programs to advance the education of Mi’kmaq and Aboriginal women and youth in the Atlantic Region and across the country, including the Certificate in Community Health at Dalhousie for women in Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, Innu, and Inuit communities, the Indigenous Black and Mi’kmaq Law Program also at Dalhousie, and the Indigenous Women in Community Leadership program at the Coady  International Institute at St. Francis Xavier University, and Professor for CBU’s  BA Community Program.  From 2015 to 2019 Catherine was  appointed as the 14th Nancy’s Chair in Women’s Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University. Catherine is a board of governor for Kings College School of Journalism. She was awarded the Senate 150 medal and the Order of Canada  2017. She is now the first Director of Indigenous Community Relations at Dalhousie University.  

Information on Nancy’s Chair. 

The Nancy Rowell Jackman Chair in Women's Studies (Nancy's Chair) was established at Mount Saint Vincent University in the mid-1980s. Endowed by well-known Toronto-based feminist and philanthropist Nancy Ruth, the Chair raises awareness of women's issues by bringing to campus distinguished scholars in women's studies and activists who have contributed to the advancement of women. The presence of the Chair adds substantially to the intellectual strength of women's studies at Mount Saint Vincent and in the Atlantic region. Duties associated with the Chair include teaching, research, and public presentations on campus and around the Atlantic provinces.