(photo by Alex Heidbuechel)
Landscape of Nations 360° Incorporated is a not-for-profit organization that creates, designs, and implements educational and expressive arts programs that convey the meaning, depth, substance, and contributions of Indigenous peoples to Canadian history and society. The organization develops projects that are intended to enlighten and transform the public’s understanding of — and engagement with — Indigenous peoples.
LON 360° emerged from the process that developed Landscape of Nations: The Six Nations and Native Allies Commemorative Memorial, a nationally significant public artwork unveiled in Queenston Heights Park on October 2, 2016. The memorial inspired dynamic educational and expressive culture programs intended to more fully convey the information expressed by its historic and symbolic elements. These include the LON 360° Indigenous Education Initiative, Celebration of Nations Gathering of Art, Culture, and Tradition, The Great Niagara Escarpment Indigenous Cultural Map produced with Plenty Canada, Empathic Traditions: Niagara's Indigenous Legacy exhibition curated for the Niagara Fall History Museum, the Indigenous Niagara Living Museum Tour, and numerous other programs and consultancies.
LON 360° emerged from the process that developed Landscape of Nations: The Six Nations and Native Allies Commemorative Memorial, a nationally significant public artwork unveiled in Queenston Heights Park on October 2, 2016. The memorial inspired dynamic educational and expressive culture programs intended to more fully convey the information expressed by its historic and symbolic elements. These include the LON 360° Indigenous Education Initiative, Celebration of Nations Gathering of Art, Culture, and Tradition, The Great Niagara Escarpment Indigenous Cultural Map produced with Plenty Canada, Empathic Traditions: Niagara's Indigenous Legacy exhibition curated for the Niagara Fall History Museum, the Indigenous Niagara Living Museum Tour, and numerous other programs and consultancies.
Tim Johnson
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Michele-Elise Burnett
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Michael Gruyich
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Tim Johnson is director of Landscape of Nations 360° Indigenous Education Initiative, artistic director of The Great Niagara Escarpment Indigenous Cultural Map, artistic producer of Celebration of Nations, creator and producer of the Indigenous Niagara Living Museum Tour, and executive producer of the multiple award-winning documentary RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked The World.
As an experienced education, museum, and arts executive Tim was instrumental in the recent development of four masterworks of public art in the Niagara Region during the past five years. Two of these consist of public memorials of national significance that recognize and honour Indigenous peoples’ contributions to Canada. The first, Landscape of Nations: The Six Nations and Native Allies Commemorative Memorial, was unveiled in Queenston Heights Park in 2016. The second, First Nations Peace Monument, designed by world-renowned architect Douglas Cardinal, who Tim recruited to the project, was established in DeCew House Heritage Park in Thorold in 2017. Tim also served on the committee and sub-committee for design and construction for Voices of Freedom Park, a public art installation dedicated in 2018 in Niagara-on-the-Lake to African Canadians whose contributions to the Niagara Region and Canada have been significant, but largely underrepresented. In addition, he was instrumental in defining the criteria and guiding the curatorial selection of the contemporary art masterpiece by Lilly Otasevic entitled Curtain Call, newly installed in 2019 on the Carlisle Street side of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre as a legacy project of Celebration of Nations and the City of St. Catharines.
As the former Associate Director for Museum Programs at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, Tim managed the museum’s largest organizational group across its facilities in Washington and New York. A long list of critically acclaimed exhibits and programs were produced during his tenure, creating an era that significantly advanced the institution's museology and reputation. Over the course of his work at the Smithsonian Tim edited, conceptualized, and strategically initiated several Smithsonian books showcasing Native arts and history. He also established the museum's Indigenous Community Services department and was co-founder and publisher of the museum’s flagship quarterly membership magazine American Indian, now in its 21st year of publication.
As Associate Director for Museum Programs over a period of ten years, Tim successfully developed exhibits ranging in cost from $15,000 to $5.65 million representing myriad orientations from ethnography and history to contemporary art. One of his most popular exhibitions, Up Where We Belong: Native Musicians In Popular Culture, was an art and history exhibit as told through the biographies of Native artists whose contributions shaped popular music soundtracks since the early 20th Century. As follow up to that exhibit Tim served as a conceptual author and executive producer of the Sundance Film Festival, Hot Docs, and Canadian Academy of Cinema and Television Award-winning documentary RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World.
Among his many highly successful Smithsonian programs was the museum’s Mother Earth Festival, curated and implemented in conjunction with Al Gore’s global Live Earth initiative held on July 7, 2007, which diffused American Indian knowledge and scientific evidence concerning environmental sustainability to thousands in attendance and millions watching around the world. Produced to enhance public education about human induced climate change, it stands as one of the Smithsonian Institution’s most widely viewed public programs. Now an annual event renamed the Living Earth Festival, it continues to bring together scientists, renewable energy technologists, tribal resource managers, educators, and cultural performers and exhibitors. As a leading figure who brought the reality and ramifications of climate change to the forefront in America’s capital, Tim also served on the executive committee of the Smithsonian’s ‘Living in the Anthropocene Initiative,’ a pan-institutional committee formed to advance public education about climate change and the implications of human conduct on the planet.
Active in his home community of Six Nations of the Grand River and with several prestigious education, arts, and journalism institutions for nearly four decades, Tim received the Dreamcatcher Foundation Award for Art and Culture in 2016. He recently directed the development of Empathic Traditions: Niagara's Indigenous Legacy, an online exhibition of the Niagara Falls History Museum's Indigenous collections. Since leaving the Smithsonian and returning home he has dedicated himself to creating legacy projects that educate the public about the Indigenous experience.
Michele-Elise Burnett, Métis with Algonquin roots, Bear Clan, is president of Kakekalanicks, an Indigenous arts and consultancy company which helps promote and educate Indigenous art and artists to a broad audience. Ms. Burnett is the associate director of outreach and development for Landscape of Nations 360°, a unique national Indigenous education and tourism initiative; the creator and artistic director of Celebration of Nations; and the artistic producer of Artpark’s Annual Strawberry Moon Festival, all providing a far-reaching platform for the community to embrace and honour the unique heritage, diverse cultures, and outstanding achievements of Indigenous peoples.
Michele-Elise has been very involved in several Indigenous public installations over the past few years. She served as co-advancement director and Inaugural unveiling co-producer for Landscape of Nations: The Six Nations & Native Allies Commemorative Memorial installed at Queenston Heights, committee member for the Carlisle Street Public Art Project which chose the exquisite installation entitled Curtain Call, created by Lilly Otasevic (proudly displayed on the outside wall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre) and that serves as a legacy project of Celebration of Nations and the City of St. Catharines. In addition, Michele-Elise conceptualized and oversaw the building of the new Native American Peace Garden installation at ArtPark.
Ms. Burnett started her career in the radio industry. After graduating from Ryerson University’s School of Radio and Television Arts, she became a third-generation radio business owner in an industry pioneered by her father and grandfather. Later, partnering with her mother, she owned and operated the most powerful signal in the Niagara Region, Spirit 91.7 FM Radio. The accomplished mother/daughter team were the first Indigenous businesspeople to be granted two private broadcasting licenses in Canada. Ms. Burnett applied her radio experience in sales, marketing, production, and event planning to LON 360°, which has been entrusted by several Niagara partners to help curate, develop, and implement Indigenous experiences, educational programs, events, and site tours.
Terar Dum Prosim (May I Be Consumed In Service), the motto from her education at Ridley College, is a way of life for Michele-Elise. She is the co-chair of the Indigenous Health Conference 2020, a Board Trustee at Brock University, where she also co-chair’s the Aboriginal Education Council. She serves as a board member of the Ridley College Fund USA and on the Niagara 2021 Canada Summer Games Board where she chair’s the Indigenous Partnership Council to the Games.
In 2018, she was the recipient of the Culture Arts Award from the GNCC Women in Niagara for her success and contributions to the community and in 2020 was recognized as one of Welland Historical Museum’s Notable People in their virtual tour.
Fiercely proud of her heritage, Ms. Burnett has demonstrated that an individual like her, who is inspired and passionate about making positive changes in our world, can wake up every day and follow and achieve their dreams. A strong proponent of Indigenous aspirations, she fosters a dream to unite, share, and respect each other’s Nations and to build a stronger Indigenous future filled with pride, dignity, and honour that will carry on for seven generations.
Michael Gruyich was born and raised in Niagara Falls, Ontario. He received his BA from Trinity College, University of Toronto, and his MBA from Niagara University, Lewiston, New York. Michael and his family have owned and operated businesses in the Niagara area for over 80 years. He is currently President of Niagara Duty Free, an award-winning duty-free store located at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls.
Michael is very active in the community and was Honorary Capital Campaign Chair for the Bethlehem Housing and Support Services Kenmore Court Building in Niagara Falls, which provides permanent housing for men, women, and families in Niagara with low to moderate income. Michael is also a board member for Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts, transforming Niagara through the power of music and presenting the world's finest Canadian and international artists in innovative, inspiring multi-sensory concert experiences in Niagara-on-the-Lake and the surrounding Niagara wine country.
Michael also volunteers his time with the Lifeline Humanitarian Organization, helping to support orphanages, safe houses for children rescued from human trafficking, homes for the elderly, and hospitals in Serbia.
As an experienced education, museum, and arts executive Tim was instrumental in the recent development of four masterworks of public art in the Niagara Region during the past five years. Two of these consist of public memorials of national significance that recognize and honour Indigenous peoples’ contributions to Canada. The first, Landscape of Nations: The Six Nations and Native Allies Commemorative Memorial, was unveiled in Queenston Heights Park in 2016. The second, First Nations Peace Monument, designed by world-renowned architect Douglas Cardinal, who Tim recruited to the project, was established in DeCew House Heritage Park in Thorold in 2017. Tim also served on the committee and sub-committee for design and construction for Voices of Freedom Park, a public art installation dedicated in 2018 in Niagara-on-the-Lake to African Canadians whose contributions to the Niagara Region and Canada have been significant, but largely underrepresented. In addition, he was instrumental in defining the criteria and guiding the curatorial selection of the contemporary art masterpiece by Lilly Otasevic entitled Curtain Call, newly installed in 2019 on the Carlisle Street side of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre as a legacy project of Celebration of Nations and the City of St. Catharines.
As the former Associate Director for Museum Programs at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, Tim managed the museum’s largest organizational group across its facilities in Washington and New York. A long list of critically acclaimed exhibits and programs were produced during his tenure, creating an era that significantly advanced the institution's museology and reputation. Over the course of his work at the Smithsonian Tim edited, conceptualized, and strategically initiated several Smithsonian books showcasing Native arts and history. He also established the museum's Indigenous Community Services department and was co-founder and publisher of the museum’s flagship quarterly membership magazine American Indian, now in its 21st year of publication.
As Associate Director for Museum Programs over a period of ten years, Tim successfully developed exhibits ranging in cost from $15,000 to $5.65 million representing myriad orientations from ethnography and history to contemporary art. One of his most popular exhibitions, Up Where We Belong: Native Musicians In Popular Culture, was an art and history exhibit as told through the biographies of Native artists whose contributions shaped popular music soundtracks since the early 20th Century. As follow up to that exhibit Tim served as a conceptual author and executive producer of the Sundance Film Festival, Hot Docs, and Canadian Academy of Cinema and Television Award-winning documentary RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World.
Among his many highly successful Smithsonian programs was the museum’s Mother Earth Festival, curated and implemented in conjunction with Al Gore’s global Live Earth initiative held on July 7, 2007, which diffused American Indian knowledge and scientific evidence concerning environmental sustainability to thousands in attendance and millions watching around the world. Produced to enhance public education about human induced climate change, it stands as one of the Smithsonian Institution’s most widely viewed public programs. Now an annual event renamed the Living Earth Festival, it continues to bring together scientists, renewable energy technologists, tribal resource managers, educators, and cultural performers and exhibitors. As a leading figure who brought the reality and ramifications of climate change to the forefront in America’s capital, Tim also served on the executive committee of the Smithsonian’s ‘Living in the Anthropocene Initiative,’ a pan-institutional committee formed to advance public education about climate change and the implications of human conduct on the planet.
Active in his home community of Six Nations of the Grand River and with several prestigious education, arts, and journalism institutions for nearly four decades, Tim received the Dreamcatcher Foundation Award for Art and Culture in 2016. He recently directed the development of Empathic Traditions: Niagara's Indigenous Legacy, an online exhibition of the Niagara Falls History Museum's Indigenous collections. Since leaving the Smithsonian and returning home he has dedicated himself to creating legacy projects that educate the public about the Indigenous experience.
Michele-Elise Burnett, Métis with Algonquin roots, Bear Clan, is president of Kakekalanicks, an Indigenous arts and consultancy company which helps promote and educate Indigenous art and artists to a broad audience. Ms. Burnett is the associate director of outreach and development for Landscape of Nations 360°, a unique national Indigenous education and tourism initiative; the creator and artistic director of Celebration of Nations; and the artistic producer of Artpark’s Annual Strawberry Moon Festival, all providing a far-reaching platform for the community to embrace and honour the unique heritage, diverse cultures, and outstanding achievements of Indigenous peoples.
Michele-Elise has been very involved in several Indigenous public installations over the past few years. She served as co-advancement director and Inaugural unveiling co-producer for Landscape of Nations: The Six Nations & Native Allies Commemorative Memorial installed at Queenston Heights, committee member for the Carlisle Street Public Art Project which chose the exquisite installation entitled Curtain Call, created by Lilly Otasevic (proudly displayed on the outside wall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre) and that serves as a legacy project of Celebration of Nations and the City of St. Catharines. In addition, Michele-Elise conceptualized and oversaw the building of the new Native American Peace Garden installation at ArtPark.
Ms. Burnett started her career in the radio industry. After graduating from Ryerson University’s School of Radio and Television Arts, she became a third-generation radio business owner in an industry pioneered by her father and grandfather. Later, partnering with her mother, she owned and operated the most powerful signal in the Niagara Region, Spirit 91.7 FM Radio. The accomplished mother/daughter team were the first Indigenous businesspeople to be granted two private broadcasting licenses in Canada. Ms. Burnett applied her radio experience in sales, marketing, production, and event planning to LON 360°, which has been entrusted by several Niagara partners to help curate, develop, and implement Indigenous experiences, educational programs, events, and site tours.
Terar Dum Prosim (May I Be Consumed In Service), the motto from her education at Ridley College, is a way of life for Michele-Elise. She is the co-chair of the Indigenous Health Conference 2020, a Board Trustee at Brock University, where she also co-chair’s the Aboriginal Education Council. She serves as a board member of the Ridley College Fund USA and on the Niagara 2021 Canada Summer Games Board where she chair’s the Indigenous Partnership Council to the Games.
In 2018, she was the recipient of the Culture Arts Award from the GNCC Women in Niagara for her success and contributions to the community and in 2020 was recognized as one of Welland Historical Museum’s Notable People in their virtual tour.
Fiercely proud of her heritage, Ms. Burnett has demonstrated that an individual like her, who is inspired and passionate about making positive changes in our world, can wake up every day and follow and achieve their dreams. A strong proponent of Indigenous aspirations, she fosters a dream to unite, share, and respect each other’s Nations and to build a stronger Indigenous future filled with pride, dignity, and honour that will carry on for seven generations.
Michael Gruyich was born and raised in Niagara Falls, Ontario. He received his BA from Trinity College, University of Toronto, and his MBA from Niagara University, Lewiston, New York. Michael and his family have owned and operated businesses in the Niagara area for over 80 years. He is currently President of Niagara Duty Free, an award-winning duty-free store located at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls.
Michael is very active in the community and was Honorary Capital Campaign Chair for the Bethlehem Housing and Support Services Kenmore Court Building in Niagara Falls, which provides permanent housing for men, women, and families in Niagara with low to moderate income. Michael is also a board member for Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts, transforming Niagara through the power of music and presenting the world's finest Canadian and international artists in innovative, inspiring multi-sensory concert experiences in Niagara-on-the-Lake and the surrounding Niagara wine country.
Michael also volunteers his time with the Lifeline Humanitarian Organization, helping to support orphanages, safe houses for children rescued from human trafficking, homes for the elderly, and hospitals in Serbia.