Mistissini’s Young Entrepreneur Symposium prepares the next Cree leaders

Mistissini was buzzing in early August when the Young Entrepreneur Symposium (YES) poured out of the Youth Centre and into the community with a combination of interactive challenges and inspiring guest speakers. About 60 youth between the ages of 13 and 35 participated in the three-day event.

“This type of conference brings out the best in people,” exclaimed Samantha Awashish, who organized the August 8-10 event. “It really pushes them out of their comfort zones and it creates friendships. Out of every conference that I’ve attended regionally and nationally, I’ve made friends who are still friends today. I wanted to promote the same kind of thing in Mistissini.”

In her role as Mistissini Youth Chief, Awashish is responsible for helping to organize the community’s youth, encouraging them to become positive citizens. This was the second annual YES she has conducted with the support of the community’s Economic Development department, holding it in the summer this year so more students could participate.

“I thought events like this would definitely create that spark within them to help them realize their potential and to help them realize there is a lot of opportunity in our Cree Nation. I realized there are many funding opportunities and lots of help, like free consultants, to help young people start up a business.”

Awashish says the Cree Nation Youth Council and the Mistissini Economic Development are two potential funding sources for aspiring entrepreneurs. She recalls one participant from last year’s conference who obtained funding for his pilot project, enabling him to build a shed to develop a woodworking business.

To help spark that entrepreneurial spirit at this year’s YES, participants were divided into teams and given various challenges that would develop their business skills. Each group chose a team name and logo, created a business plan and a commercial, and researched how to market and budget a start-up enterprise. Another challenge involved creating a social awareness campaign to destigmatize mental-health issues.

A sales competition requiring each team to sell a painting by a local artist got the young people out into the community, documenting their excursions with the hashtag #MistYES2018 and finding generous customers such as the fire department and Chief Thomas Neeposh. Awashish was pleasantly surprised at the extent that community leaders got involved in supporting some of the challenges, but perhaps that’s simply a reminder of the importance of intergenerational teachings in Cree culture.

“Youth have that effect,” Awashish said. “Once they get motivated in doing something, they tend to create a ripple effect and I find that’s exactly what happened in the community.”

The lineup of speakers at the event was likely a motivating factor. Besides the dozens of panelists were keynote speakers Mandy Gull, Pakesso Mukash and Kendal Netmaker. Gull presented on the first day, speaking of her journey into entrepreneurship before getting into politics and becoming Deputy Grand Chief of the Cree Nation.

Mukash, known for his role in popular band CerAmony and most recently KXO, talked about the entrepreneurial aspect of the entertainment industry and the importance of youth voices in shaping our world. Netmaker has become an in-demand motivational speaker for his uplifting story about rising from poverty in Saskatchewan to become a young, award-winning business leader, and made a very engaging presentation for the youth.

The Nation’s own editor-in-chief Will Nicholls dropped by the event on the last day, explaining details about the publication’s marketing strategy and joining that afternoon’s panel discussion. All of the speakers made a big impact on the participants, who asked many questions to learn about different paths to entrepreneur success and what types of businesses are needed today.

One of the primary goals of the conference was to encourage participants to overcome shyness by stepping outside of their comfort zones. A series of presentations and icebreakers helped accomplish this, public speaking tasks that were difficult for many but ultimately tremendously beneficial.

The personal growth experienced by participants is evident in their Facebook status updates. For example, Yvette Gunner wrote that the event convinced her to persevere in her goal of opening a business. “I wanted to give up on it but after this symposium I’m gonna keep on working on it,” she stated.

“You know how youth talk about how they’re bored or can’t find jobs,” said Awashish. “Entrepreneurship is another way to serve your community in whatever way you find that you can contribute to our Cree Nation.”

Her pride in the transformations brought about by the conference is evident. She knows she would probably be starting a business if she wasn’t Youth Chief, suggesting that there is much opportunity for becoming the first Cree to own many types of businesses.

Awashish is full of gratitude for her supporting team and all the speakers who contributed their expertise to make the event a success. She especially wants to recognize all the youth who participated, even if they didn’t win one of the top prizes, encouraging them to do their best in whatever they choose to pursue.

“The main point of the conference was to inspire them to go on to contribute to the economic development of the community,” she said. “It helped them realize all their potential and the things that are available to them to start a business. They got it.”