The Faculty of Arts is honoured to welcome our newest Indigenous Resident: Indigenous Storyteller in Residence, Katłįà Lafferty.
Leena will be available for in-class visits, events, as well as student, faculty and staff engagements. If you would like to schedule an online consultation or invite them to attend a class or event, please email IndigenousResident@kpu.ca.
2026 - Current:
Katłįà Lafferty
Katłįà is a Yellowknives Dene First Nation woman from Sǫ̀mbak’è, Dënéndeh (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories). She spends half or her time in her home territory and the other half of her time living and working on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples as well as the neighboring W̱SÁNEĆ nations.
Katłįà holds a law degree in Indigenous Legal Orders through the University of Victoria and is an award-winning writer who has written 5 books. Her latest is entitled “Mother Earth Is Our Elder” a northern Indigenous reflection on the climate crisis published with Penguin Random House and Harper Collins.
In her work, Katłįà aims to honor her role as an Indigenous storyteller by continuing to create visually compelling narratives that reflect her cultural background, upbringing and connection to community—crafting impactful stories through a lens rooted in Indigenous value systems and laws.
Aside from her work, Katłįà is a mother, grandmother, and daughter of the Dene.
2026 Previous:
Leena Minifie
Leena Minifie (Gitxaala/British) is a Vancouver-based director and producer spanning across documentary, interactive, and journalism. Her work has been featured at Sundance, Berlinale, ImagineNative, TIFF Top Ten, Skábmagovat, Haida Gwaii 2009e. Her recently released big idea feature documentary THE GOOD CANADIAN (APTN, CBC) became the 3rd most viewed program on CBC Gem within one month of its launch.
As a journalist she worked at CBC Radio One and APTN National News. She reported from Standing Rock, the Picton Trial and broke the Queen of the North story. She produced LILY GLADSTONE: FAR OUT THERE (PBS), and BRITISH COLUMBIA - AN UNTOLD HISTORY (Knowledge).Leena won the 2025 CMPA Kevin Tierney Emerging Producer Indiescreen Award and her work as a producer has received 5 Leo awards, multiple CSA and Leo awards, as well as nominations for the Webby Award and the Golden Sheaf award.
Leena has led impact campaigns for INDIAN HORSE, THE GRIZZLIES, MONKEY BEACH, SAINTS AND WARRIORS, THE NEW CORPORATION and COEXTINCTION. She’s a Reelworld Producers Program fellow and 2024 trailblazer, a BANFF Spark Accelerator for Women and Bell Reelworld Producer’s Program fellow and Netflix/BANFF Diversity of Voices 2022. She is the founder of Stories First, a founding member of Native Land Digital, a non-profit, and a co-founder of Ricochet Media out of Montreal. Leena has been an Executive Director and leader at many nonprofits in arts and film and currently sits on the international documentary board member committee for the Documentary Producer’s Alliance.