Manager, Indigenous Science Liaison Office, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and farmer, hunter, trapper and fisherman
Dan Benoit is a Manitoba Métis from the Red River area. He has spent most of his life living near his ancestor's Red River Lot in St. Norbert Parish, at the family farm near Seven Sisters Falls, MB, and most recently in the small Metis farming and fishing community of St. Laurent, MB. Like many Métis, Dan has been raised in the traditions and culture of his People including their special relationship and stewardship with the land and water. Dan is a farmer, hunter, trapper and fisherman, and continues to exercise these traditions and pass them along to others. Dan formerly operated his family's traditional, mixed Métis farm. The animals and vegetable crops found on the farm were those that were found in the early Red River Settlement circa 1820s. In addition to being a Metis Traditional Knowledge holder, Dan has more than 10 years post-secondary education and has various degrees, diplomas and certificates in Natural Resources Management, Ecology and water and wastewater management. Dan has worked for both industry and all three levels of government in the natural resources and environment field. He also has 5 years of experience as a consultant to First Nations and Northern Affairs Communities in Manitoba regarding community development, environment and hydro-electric generation issues. Dan was a manager for five years, in charge of the Agriculture, Environment, Hydro, and Natural Resources Portfolios at the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) supervising a multi-disciplinary province-wide team of fourteen staff, including helping create the MMF Metis Law of the Harvest. For the last 13 years, he has worked as an Environmental Scientist with the Government of Canada, and is now the Manager of the Indigenous Science Liaison Office at AAFC for the past year and a half.