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Holly Atjecoutay: Empowering and Supporting the Indigenous Youth of Canada

Indigenous people in Canada face a tremendous amount of socioeconomic inequality compared with non-Indigenous Canadians, mainly due to the impacts of colonization. Most of the Indigenous population maneuvers the generational effects of colonization every day, which have particular impacts on individuals. Generations of poverty, stigma, and abuse that are colonially constructed and enforced, have had a devastating impact on Indigenous communities.

According to the Lancet journal, “Nowadays, Indigenous people face systemic issues, including racism, discrimination, and bias within institutions (e.g., hospitals and health-care facilities) related to this historical context, which have not stopped after the closure of the last residential school in Canada in 1996.”

To create new entrepreneurs from Indigenous peoples facing oppressive systems, Futurpreneur, with its 26 years of experience supporting thousands of successful young entrepreneurs, launched the Indigenous Entrepreneur Startup Program in 2019 to support Indigenous entrepreneurs across Canada. Through IESP, young Indigenous entrepreneurs can receive up to CAD $60,000 in capital financing, are matched with an expert mentor for up to two years, and gain access to a range of workshops and resources designed to support them in setting up their businesses for success. Since the program’s launch, more than 120 young Indigenous entrepreneurs have received financing to launch various businesses nationally.

Holly Atjecoutay is the Director of the Indigenous Entrepreneur Startup Program (IESP) at Futurpreneur. In her role, Atjecoutay oversees the development of a comprehensive program entirely dedicated to empowering and supporting Indigenous youth.

The Steadfast Leader

Born and raised in Mohkinstis (Calgary, Alberta), in Treaty Seven Territory, Holly Atjecoutay is a Nehiyaw Iskwew (Cree Woman) from Cowessess First Nation in Treaty Four Saskatchewan.

Atjecoutay has long been involved in Indigenous entrepreneurship and youth employment. She pursued her graduation from Mount Royal University in Calgary in 2015 with an undergraduate degree in English with a minor in Indigenous Studies. Like many Indigenous people across Canada, Atjecoutay had a tumultuous relationship with education. Although her childhood dream was to be a lawyer specializing in Indigenous rights and governance, she dropped out of high school in the 11th grade and started working in the oil and gas industry with a focus on Indigenous communities. At this point in time, she was reminded that education is the new buffalo for Indigenous people. So, she went back to school and received her high school equivalency with the best grades possible to go to law school. Later, Atjecoutay completed a practicum with an Indigenous-owned law firm when the Residential School Survivors vs. the Federal Government of Canada class action lawsuits began through the Alternative Dispute Resolution and Independent Assessment Process.

After completing her practicum with Blain Law, she started working full-time at the law firm as the Indian Residential School Survivor interviewer. During her tenure in the law firm, she interviewed several hundred Indigenous Residential School Survivors throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan for their compensation claims. Then Atjecoutay started a full-time position at Shell Oil and Gas while also establishing her first small business in commercial cleaning. However, she continued her undergraduate degree and got the opportunity to work for the Aboriginal Friendship Center of Calgary as the Youth Coordinator, developing culture-based programming and resources for Indigenous youth in and around the Calgary region.

During this time, Atjecoutay realized that she was expecting a child. So, she went on maternity leave and finished her university semester. She returned to full-time studies three months after her daughter was born. Later she took a crucial position in supporting a small Indigenous-owned business while also launching her second business as a tutor for secondary and post-secondary students.

“Being a mother completely changed my trajectory of what my career was to be. I had full intentions of continuing to my graduate degree, but my life paths did not align, and I started a great position at a midstream oil and gas company where I worked in human resources and Aboriginal relations.”– Atjecoutay said.

Nearly two years later, Atjecoutay got a fantastic opportunity to work with Business Link Alberta as a part of their Indigenous team working exclusively with Indigenous entrepreneurs, building and creating programming, and working one-on-one with small business owners to support them in their entrepreneurial journeys to success. Later she moved into a leadership position as the Director of Indigenous Business Development Services and expanded her portfolio to include Immigrant Entrepreneur Services and Black Entrepreneur Programming.

Eventually, all her experience and professional background brought Atjecoutay to her current position at Futurpreneur. Being in the ecosystem of entrepreneurship service providers for six years, Atjecoutay was already a massive supporter of Futurpreneur and admired the mission and core values of the organization – to provide early-stage financing, mentorship, and educational tools and resources to support aspiring entrepreneurs launch successful businesses that can contribute to sustainable economic development in their communities and nationwide.

Joining Futurpreneur

The impact of Futurpreneur’s programs, services, and finances for young Indigenous entrepreneurs was the main reason Atjecoutay joined the company. Witnessing the first-hand positive growth of Indigenous-owned businesses and being a part of their success stories has excited her to be a part of the economic impact for the present and future generations of the Indigenous small business community. After joining the company, Atjecoutay was amazed to see passionate team members who are always invested in the entrepreneurs they work with, ideating and innovating impactful tools and resources that are meaningful to the entrepreneurial community.

Within the startup program, a team of dedicated Indigenous subject matter experts provides support, tools, and resources to young and aspiring Indigenous entrepreneurs. The Indigenous Entrepreneur Startup Program also co-creates entrepreneurial and financial resiliency training through partnerships with Indigenous community members and organizations.

The Biggest Achievement

Atjecoutay says, “Success to myself looks like determination and resiliency. As a First Nations woman working in a corporate environment, prior to joining Futurprneur, I would sometimes find myself in situations where my vision and values were compromised because they did not fit into a western imperialistic narrative.”

Being an Indigenous woman, Atjecoutay encourages every Indigenous person to stand true to their beliefs and teachings irrespective of their profession or circumstances. She also advises them to ensure their voices are heard at any chance they can get. She feels grateful to work for an organization that respects the vision of the Indigenous team and constantly encourages them to incorporate their experiences, realities, and passion into their work.

Atjecoutay feels her biggest achievement in life is working with the Indigenous communities in several positions she has held till now.

She says, “Getting up every day knowing that the collective work I do alongside a truly remarkable team makes a valuable difference in Indigenous communities across the country is a phenomenal reality to live in. I often have to remind myself that I am, in fact, not dreaming, but the reality is, even if I did not get paid to do this work, I would be doing it anyway. I am humbled and awestruck by the Indigenous small businesses that we support, and to see their dreams become a reality is an indescribable reward.”

Preparing for the Future

Atjecoutay envisions that over the next five years, Futurpreneur will support thousands of entrepreneurs in their startup journey through mentorship, programming, and financing; and will be a market leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion. She also expects IESP to quadruple the number of supported Indigenous entrepreneurs, be a catalyst in Indigenous-led facilitated programming, have tools and resources developed that are created from the base of Indigenous traditions and ways of knowing, and provide the most trusted resources in Indigenous entrepreneurship nationally.

As the Director of the Indigenous Entrepreneur Startup Program (IESP), Atjecoutay feels it’s her privilege to work with Indigenous entrepreneurs daily.

“As Indigenous people, we have always been entrepreneurs since time immemorial; the first true entrepreneurs of Canada were Indigenous with the fur trade, voyagers, translators, and Canada Post. Indigenous economies will thrive once again, and the foundation of those economies lies in entrepreneurship,” she says.

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