Are you an Indigenous community hoping to conceptualize, open, or advance a cultural centre, museum, or gallery? Tom and Barbara would love to work with you.
Tom is a Métis citizen whose family names are Desmarais and Favel, with roots in Westbourne in what is now Manitoba and part of the Red River region. He worked with the Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations and the Métis Nation Alberta (now Otipemisiwak Métis Government) to conceptualize the Indigenous Peoples Experience at Fort Edmonton Park. He worked closely with He Apiha Takawaenga Māori | Māori Liaisons at the Mangawhai Museum in Aotearoa | New Zealand. He now works at the Amelia Douglas Institute for Métis Culture and Language.
Barbara is of settler stock: German and Swedish on her father’s side; English and Channel Islands on her mother’s. In Aotearoa/New Zealand, Barbara worked with Puke Ariki museum as collections and curatorial lead, including co-developing an exhibition with noted Māori artist WharehokaSmith to create Nekenekehia tukua. The exhibition explored elements of design, space, tradition, and challenged expectations about Toi Māori (Māori art). As the director of the Kauri Museum in northern Aotearoa, arbara joined local iwi and the Matakohe community to Indigenise the institution, weaving te ao Māori (Māori worldview), tikanga (customs), and mātauranga (knowledge) into the Museum’s policies, exhibitions, and governance. Her current work as director of the Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology includes building positive includes building positive relationships and partners with Indigenous communities across BC and beyond to repatriate and better steward their own cultural heritage. In September, 2026, Barbara began her PhD studies under the supervision of Dr Nicholas Hedley at SFU, where she studies digital and place-based storytelling museums.
Need to know what policies you’ll need, and help writing them? Need to train up your community members in a way that blends industry standards with culturally specific goals?
We can assist with planning, policies, design, and training. We would love to help!
Inquiries
Fill out this form if you’d like to inquire about booking North Wind to help you with your cultural centre, museum, or gallery:
North Wind Heritage Consulting 