Guest Speaker
The Rt. Rev. Lydia Mamakwa was born in a tiny isolated settlement of Big Beaver House, in the far north of Ontario and grew up there until the age of 8. In May 1965, the whole settlement moved to a new location which is now known as Kingfisher Lake First Nation, where Bishop Lydia continued to live with her parents and grandparents. At the age of 14, Bishop Lydia went to the Mennonite residential school where she gained valuable spiritual knowledge as Bible teaching as part of the school’s daily curriculum. Bishop Lydia went back to Kingfisher Lake and started a family but in later years, sought to finish her high school and some post secondary education. She is a graduate of the Train an Indigenous Priest and Diploma in Indigenous Anglican Theology. She has been in ordained ministry for 23 years and was elected to the episcopacy in March 2010 and is currently Diocesan Bishop of the Indigenous Spiritual Ministry of Mishamikoweesh. Bishop Lydia continues to live in Kingfisher Lake First Nation with her husband James and son Jeremy.