Happy National Indigenous Peoples Day! To celebrate this year, we are spotlighting the 2020 cohort of the Fireweed Fellowship, which was supported by the First Peoples Enterprise Accelerator Program.
In 2020, the First Peoples Enterprise Accelerator Program partnered with Raven Indigenous Capital Partners and welcomed its first cohort of the Fireweed Fellowship. The Fireweed Fellowship is the first national Indigenous Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program, that brought together twenty-four incredible Indigenous women (cis, trans & non-binary), 2Spirit, and IndigiQueer entrepreneurs. The program was co-created by Indigenous knowledge keepers who provided a decolonial and culturally-safe accelerator space for entrepreneurs to grow alongside one another.
Here are some of the Fellows from the 2020 cohort:
Wellness:
Sisters Sage
Sisters Sage is a 100% vegan cruelty-free wellness brand that carries a range of soaps, bath bombs, salves and smokeless smudges. It was created by sisters Lynn-Marie & Melissa-Rae Angus of Gitxaala, Nisga’s and Metis Nations.
Sḵwálwen Botanicals
Sḵwálwen Botanicals, led by Squamish entrepreneur and ethnobotanist Leigh Joseph, is a luxury Indigenous skincare brand honouring cultural knowledge, Indigenous plant science, and self-care. The brand carries a variety of items such as facial bars, candles, and lip balms, all with Squamish names that honour the land from which Sḵwálwen’s plant knowledge comes from.
Economic Empowerment:
The Sage Initiative
The Sage Initiative, founded by Sage Lacerte, a Carrier woman from the Lake Babine Nation, is an impact investment collective for young Indigenous women to gain investment literacy and generate a circular Indigenous economy led by matriarchs.
Consulting:
Decolonize Together
A collective of Indigenous and BIPOC womxn founded by Nikki Sanchez, who provide decolonial, antiracism, and anti-oppression education and consultation. The collective offers workshops, curriculum creation, program development, cultural safety in the workplace training, trauma-informed practices, decolonial coaching, and HR support.
Anishinaabe Consultation Services
Kim Wheatley is a multi-award-winning Cultural Consultant for over three decades and has utilized traditional and ceremonial knowledge to educate. She offers keynotes, workshops, traditional teachings & ceremonies connected to the historical and contemporary realities of Indigenous people.
Media:
MUSKRAT Magazine
Co-founded by Rebeka Tabobondung of Wasauksing First Nation, this online platform is a leading Indigenous arts and culture magazine that strives to honour, investigate, and disseminate traditional knowledge in ways that inspire their reclamation.
Home Goods:
MINI TIPI
Founded in 2016 by Trisha Pitura and Mélanie Bernard, MINI TIPI works with Indigenous artists to design small-batch quality goods for the home. All their products, such as their blankets, women's shawls, children's ponchos and baby products, are designed, cut, and sewn in Québec.
Check out the complete list of the 2020 cohort here.
