Senator Mich猫le Audette is a well-known Indigenous leader.
Daughter of a Qu茅b茅cois father and an Innu mother, Mich猫le Audette comes from the Innu community of Uashat mak Mani-Utenam in Quebec. She has played a key role in transforming the relationship between Indigenous peoples and Quebec and Canadian society since the 1990s. At only 27 years of age, she was elected president of the association Quebec Native Women. In 2004, she was appointed associate deputy minister to the Secr茅tariat 脿 la condition f茅minine of Quebec. From 2012 to 2015, she served as president of the Native Women鈥檚 Association of Canada. In 2015, she helped create an innovative graduate program in Indigenous public administration for the 脡cole nationale d鈥檃dministration publique.
Audette was appointed one of the five commissioners responsible for conducting the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Since 2019, she has been assistant to the vice-rector, academic and student affairs, and senior adviser for reconciliation and Indigenous education at Universit茅 Laval.
In recognition of her significant contributions, Audette received the 2018 Woman of Distinction Award in the Inspiration category from the Women鈥檚 Y Foundation of Montreal. She was named Woman of the Year in 2014 by the Montreal Council of Women, and was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. She also received an honorary doctorate from the Universit茅 de Montr茅al, in acknowledgement of her deep commitment to the cause of Indigenous women and tireless work on reconciliation between peoples.
Audette studied visual arts at the Universit茅 du Qu茅bec 脿 Montr茅al and art education at Concordia University.