The following article was written by Kristi Perrin. Kristi recently attended the Indigenous Women’s Leadership Summit (IWLS) conference held at the Fairmont Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Hi, I’m Kristi Perrin! I am in my fifth year and am majoring in Marketing and Human Resource Management. I am the 2019-20 President of the University of Manitoba Indigenous Commerce Students (UMICS) and over Thanksgiving weekend, I attended the Indigenous Women’s Leadership Summit in beautiful Vancouver, BC! Let me tell you a little about my experience and some of the both meaningful and interesting things we experienced!
I attended the conference with my Vice-President of Operations, Cassie Phaneuf. We flew into YVR together and headed to the beautiful Fairmont Hotel in the heart of the financial district of downtown Vancouver and after an afternoon of exploring the area, we headed to the IWLS opening gala. The gala featured a fashion show, curated by Chloe Angus Designs, music from world-renowned DJ O-Show, and an entire room full of influential Indigenous women! This evening we were challenged to exchange business cards with as many women as possible and make connections with as many new faces as we could. I even won the door prize of a beautiful framed photograph I plan to donate to be displayed in the new Indigenous Business Education Partners (IBEP) student lounge.
After an evening of meeting women from all over Canada, Friday morning was time to get down to business! We were introduced to our Matriarch of Ceremonies, Andrea Menard, who stars in the Netflix series, Blackstone, and spent the day hearing from members of government (including Melanie Mark, BC’s first female First-Nations MLA), academia (Jo-Ann Archibald, Crystal Manyfingers), entrepreneurs (Jenn Harper, CEO of Cheekbone Beauty), among many others!
The following day, we heard from many more speakers who spoke their truths and inspired us with their vulnerability and openness when discussing topics such as trauma, breaking cycles of abuse, inequities in the child welfare system, and prejudice in the workplace. We heard from women who have broken free from the bounds of poverty, who have started businesses, been elected into public office, who have become professors, doctors, lawyers, musicians, and change-makers in their communities. We heard about educators, notably Carolyn Roberts, member of the Squamish Nation who is the principal of the first immersion school where students are instructed in their Indigenous language. We heard from architects working to Indigenize sacred spaces, cities, and communities. Fashion designers working to share the beauty of Indigenous design with the masses, and a First-Nations engineer who leads a team building nuclear submarines. This experience was truly so profound and inspiring.
Some key takeaways I’d like to share are to follow your passion, to be unapologetic and unafraid of being the first. To speak your truth, and to empower those around you to reach their fullest potential. This experience put me more in touch with my femininity and what it means to be an empowered woman, especially in today’s world.