A highly respected Wolastoqey canoe builder and artist, G. Wayne Brooks and his family repatriated the 200-year-old birch bark canoe, Grandfather Akwiten Canoe, and constructed an authentic vessel, the Grandmother Canoe, to honour their ancestors and Sitansisk First Nation. Wayne is well known internationally for creating beautiful birch bark objects.

An advocate, advisor, and champion of Wolastoqey culture, Kim Brooks has worked for many years to build recognition and appreciation of Wolastoqey culture, history, and traditions. With her husband Wayne and others, she established Wolastokwiyik Nawicowok: the Sacred Land Trust, a charitable organization to support renewal of traditional Wolastoqey practices.