Elder Mona Stonefish

Elder Mona Stonefish (Anishinaabe, Bear Clan) is a Doctor of Traditional Medicine, with an honorary Doctorate of Law from Guelph University.  Stonefish is a former Senator of the Anishinaabemowin Teg - language preservation, a Keeper of Wisdom, and a Grandmother Water Walker. She is a member of the Native American Museum of Washington D.C., a member of the Art Gallery of Windsor Board of Trustees, a traditional dancer, and recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2013).

She received the Lieutenant Governor's Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation, for the exhibition, “Into the Light: Eugenics and Education in Southern Ontario,” Guelph Civic Museum, 2020. She was honoured with the prestigious Clark Award for her contributions as an advocate focused on the role of human rights, restorative justice and education, and as an advisor to Windsor Law on Indigenous matters (University of Windsor, 2016). She was also recognized with the 2017 Journey Toward Success Visionary Award. In their extensive travels, she and her granddaughter Sky Stonefish support and teach one another, confront discrimination and fight to tear down barriers together. Stonefish’s role in the Co-Lab is Elder, Anishinaabe Language and Culture Advisor.