Youth summit inspires youth to become entrepreneurs
Submitted by Sarah A. Blackwell
NIPISSING FIRST NATION—The Anishinabek Nation Wahniigaaniiwat Youth Summit held at Nipissing University on August 14-16, 2018, was attended by 29 youth participants represented from Anishinabek Nation First Nations.
The youth summit was a collaborative effort between the Anishinabek Nation Youth Program and the Economic Development Program with the intention of building youth leadership skills for business development through a cultural lens.
The youth participated in business presentations from successful Indigenous entrepreneurs that included Mark Marsolais-Nahwegahbow of Birch Bark Coffee Company; Cliff Skelliter of LaunchPad Creative; Joseph Pitawanakwat of Creator’s Garden; and with a special keynote address from Earl Lambert of Warrior Spirit Productions Ltd. on the Spirit of Entrepreneurship.
If the youth did not begin the summit with a business idea, the presentations and cultural activities empowered them to believe they can become a business owner.
“I wanted to return home right after one of the business presenters to call the business center to get started on my business plan,” expressed Tammy Roszel, a youth participant from Aundeck Omni Kaning.
The agenda integrated cultural activities throughout the three-day event, which the youth participants expressed was a nice balance to a very busy agenda. These activities included a medicine walk with Joseph Pitawanakwat of Creator’s Garden; building their own mini model teepees with Audrey Commanda; and participating in a social evening of hand drumming and singing with Nathalie Restoule and Jordan Mowat. The youth enjoyed the evening socials on both evenings, and even though they had to wake up early for morning activities, they were engaged and interactive throughout the event, and suggested future events be scheduled for a longer duration so they have more time to create closer connections with other youth participants.
There were a number of youth that expressed interest in starting a Youth Council in their First Nation following the youth summit. The business skill set in an entrepreneur is transferable and empowering for youth to become youth council leaders in their community.
Anishinabek Nation’s Youth Program Coordinator, Sarah Blackwell, spoke about the importance of creating a Youth Council mentorship program.
“There are only approximately five First Nations with youth councils in the Anishinabek territory. We need to create opportunities through youth summits like this one, so a peer-mentorship model can be created as it pertains to youth council development.”
The final day of the Wahniigaaniiwat Youth Summit included group strategy sessions where participant input was collected to help guide the future development of the Anishinabek Nation Innovation Center, spearheaded by Megan Goulais, Economic Development Project Coordinator with the Anishinabek Nation.
In the next few months, a final video will be produced to capture the event in its entirety, and will be published on the Anishinabek Nation YouTube channel, shared with member First Nations and the Anishinabek Nation Weshkiniijig the Facebook page. Some of the youth also participated in having their photos taken for an inspirational photo series.