Michelle Fournie

Michelle Fournie (she/her/hers) is a mother, auntie, entrepreneur, and advocate whose work is rooted in love, accountability, and community.

A proud Citizen claimed by Lii Michif residing with her decedents in Rocky View District 4 – Battle River Territory in Chestermere, Alberta, she honours the Laws of the Niitsítapi, the oral and written promises of Treaty #7 signatory Nations, and the autonomy of the Otimpemisiwak—“those who rule themselves.”

Michelle is the founder of Sacred Four Communications, a collaborative practice grounded in relationality, humour, and Indigenous scholarship. Named one of Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40, she is widely recognized for her gifts in leadership, strategy and facilitation. Michelle is a graduate of Mount Royal University’s Public Relations program—where she served as valedictorian—and holds a master’s degree in land-based educational research from the University of Calgary.

Known for her thoughtful and poetic approach to decolonization, Michelle weaves Indigenous storytelling, humour, and ceremony into her work. Her methodology is shaped by a strong circle of mentors, Elders, and young people to whom she remains deeply accountable.

Michelle has served on the board of the Indigenous Gathering Place Society of Calgary, helping to advance the vision for an Indigenous-led healing and cultural space in the city. She and Anne Harding first met as colleagues in 2014, and have since become close friends—walking alongside one another with mutual respect, reciprocity, and a shared commitment to navigating complex systems with courage and compassion. Their relationship reflects the very heart of reconciliation: not a destination, but a way of being in relationship, of learning from one another, and of holding space for multiple truths.

Carrying the Blackfoot names Pi’tamaka (Running Eagle) and Tátsikikkónamaan’ikkitstakiaakii (Centre Pole Offering Woman), Michelle leads from the heart, drawing strength from the matriarchs before her and opening space for others to rise. In her own words:

“I would like to thank every woman who paves the way for the next. The mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers: we carry your Spirit in us.”

With fierce love and gentle guidance, Michelle continues to shape futures where Indigenous ways of knowing are not only respected—but celebrated and lived.