SPEAKER

Opening Ceremonies

Join Emcee Sunshine Tenasco, Kitigan Zibi Annishnebeg entrepreneur, author and activist, as she kicks off the inaugural SOAR Digital Gathering of Indigenous Entrepreneurs presented by Square.

Bernice Clarke, Inuk Founder of Uasau Soap, opens the SOAR gathering with a qulliq (seal-oil, blubber or soapstone lamp, ᖁᓪᓕᖅ) burning ceremony.

Bree Island, also known as Auntie Bree, is a nehiyaw iskwew / Cree woman from Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, Treaty 8 territory. Auntie Bree is a visual artist and owner of Mixed Creatives, a GFX VFX studio. And she is here today to share the story and meaning of the SOAR logo she co-created with the SOAR team.

SacRED is a modern-day digital shape-shifter, storyteller through movement and medicine woman of the heart, on a mission to support all people and the planet to recognize truths of the past and present while returning to a natural rhythm of well-being for the future generations. SacRED performs a spoken word and song that speaks to the rising of Indigenous leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators.

Opening Circle: Breaking through the Struggle

Indigenous entrepreneurs discuss healing intergenerational trauma, reconnecting with ceremony, culture and community, reclaiming traditional ways of trade that reframe money as medicine, and how Indigenous people can support one another to soar.