A First Nation engineer has been named president of the Canadian Aboriginal Minerals Association as the group relaunches after a pandemic-era hiatus amid rising Indigenous participation in mining.
Kaella-Marie Earle, a member of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island in Ontario, was appointed to lead the organization, which had been largely inactive since 2020, according to Windspeaker.com on Monday.
The association’s revival reflects renewed demand from Indigenous communities for support in navigating mining development and securing economic participation as project activity increases across Canada.
Earle was initially asked to help restart the organization before being selected to take on the leadership role, stepping in as the group re-establishes its national presence.
1992 founding
The Canadian Aboriginal Minerals Association was founded in 1992 by Hans Matthews of Wahnapitae First Nation, who led the group until it became dormant during the COVID-19 period, Windspeaker said.
The relaunch was formalized earlier this month at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto, where the organization drew interest from industry and Indigenous leaders.
Based in Sudbury, Ont., Earle also serves on Natural Resources Canada’s Sustainable Jobs Partnership Council, advising federal ministers and the prime minister on workforce development linked to the energy transition.
Her work centres on expanding Indigenous participation in resource development and addressing employment barriers in the sector, as governments and companies look to align mining growth with net-zero goals.
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