As Bernice Clarke, of Uasau Soaps in Iqaluit, stated during her opening remarks on the first day of the Empowering Innovation of Spirit Conference in Yellowknife, “We all have a purpose.”
Clarke shared that the tool for lighting and tending a qulliq — a traditional seal oil lamp used by Inuit for generations — is the taqquti, a wick trimmer. It's important to not take the function of the taqquti away by using a lighter or matches, she advised. Just like the taqquti, she said, we cannot take a person's purpose away from them.
So began days of inspired speeches from some of the world's leading Indigenous economic theorists and entrepreneurs during the Aug. 26-28 conference, which was hosted by EntrepreNorth at the Explorer Hotel.
During the opening remarks, Ben Scott, founding director and co-lead of EntrepreNorth, spoke about how the vision for EntrepreNorth and this conference honoured Indigenous knowledge systems. As the EntrepreNorth vision statement reflects, "innovating solutions to strengthen economic resilience and community well-being for generations to come” is a goal.
Amanda Baton of Sahtea Adze Beadwork, Carl Kodakin-Yakeleya of Ever Good Medicine and Bobby Drygeese of B-Dene Adventures led cultural workshops and a gala evening featuring Dene musicians Miranda Currie and Digawolf closed the event.
During a panel titled 'Entrepreneurial Journeys of Transformation and Community Impact,' Joelle Hogan, owner of the Yukon Soap Company, spoke about the impact that these opportunities had on her own life and the community around her. She explained how her businesses growth and expansion was shared by her followers on social media and by members of her community who resonated with her journey.
Scott, called the conference a “full-circle moment for the team."
"And I’m really just so happy for all the entrepreneurs and ecosystem partners, and everyone who supports entrepreneurs, to have a space to come together and share ideas and conversations and just celebrate entrepreneurship and celebrate the amazing diverse cultures that exist across the Arctic regions," he said.
Jimi Onalik, president of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor), advised that expressions of interest are welcome, and he invited entrepreneurs to contact any of CanNor's three Northern offices in Yellowknife, Iqaluit and Whitehorse.
"We will spend time to sit down and talk about just your over all budget,” Onalik said, adding that there is a lot of support for entrepreneurs.
On the second day of the conference, Shutoatine Elder Paul Andrew asked the room, “How do you show that you are proud of who you are?"
The answer, he suggested, is "You sing the songs. The Elders didn’t suggest I sing the songs, they insisted. So that when somebody comes up to you and says 'Good Morning,' you sing to that person. In our language, though, it's the Dene love songs. People who sing Dene love songs are happy — happy to be around one more day; happy there are animals out there; happy for this beautiful land.
You know, I’m proud of it. It’s action that makes a difference," Andrew told the audience. "The Elders will always tell you that: ‘Don’t talk about hunting, go hunting, get out there. Don't talk about sewing crafts, do it. And they always told us that. When you’re dancing your dance and you're singing your songs, there is nobody in the world better than you because its yours. So you sing those songs, and you dance those dances. You tell the young people that you are proud to be you, whoever you are or whatever you do.
"And don’t you ever give up. Don’t ever let me as an older person hear somebody say, “I gave up” because that's not a part of our history. We don’t do that. That's why 600 years of colonization and we’re still here, we’re still kicking, and we’re going to continue to do that, right?” he said to a warm and enthusiastic reception.
