Expanding Our Circle: Celebrating Indigenous Strengths and the Future We Are Building Together
Every year on June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day invites people across Canada to celebrate the cultures, leadership, achievements, resilience, and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples. It is a day of pride, reflection, and recognition, and a time to honour the strength, knowledge, creativity, and excellence that continue to shape Indigenous
communities across the country.
For the Indigenous Prosperity Foundation, this day offers a meaningful opportunity to reflect on the journey so far and the future we are building together. Over the past year, IPF’s circle has continued to grow through people, programs, partnerships, community engagement, mentorship, research, storytelling, and shared learning. Each relationship, visit, and learning
space, and opportunity has added another ripple to the work.
At the heart of this journey are the entrepreneurs, youth, women, communities, partners, Indigenous Financial Institutions, funders, mentors, facilitators, and advocates who are helping to shape a stronger Indigenous entrepreneurial ecosystem across Canada. Together, they reflect the collective spirit that guides IPF’s purpose: to create prosperity for Indigenous Peoples through
collaboration and empowerment.
“IPF’s vision has always been rooted in possibility. We see a future where Indigenous entrepreneurs and businesses are thriving, where communities have access to the right supports, and where Indigenous prosperity helps shape a more inclusive Canadian economy.”
- Michelle Okere, Executive Director
That vision has guided IPF through its formative years. These first years have been about listening deeply, building with care, honouring relationships, and creating pathways that support Indigenous youth, entrepreneurs, and communities. They have also been years of action. IPF has launched and strengthened programs, deepened partnerships, travelled to communities, listened to entrepreneurs, and worked alongside partners who share a commitment to Indigenous prosperity.
This past year reflected important movement. IPF strengthened the centre of its work by growing internal capacity, clarifying systems, supporting stronger coordination, and preparing for long-term program growth. At the same time, the circle widened through community engagement across regions, youth gatherings, workshops, webinars, regional partnerships, and Walking Together visits that helped IPF listen, learn, and carry community priorities into the pathways being built.
Through Money Smarts, IPF is supporting financial literacy and creating accessible learning opportunities that meet communities where they are. Through Indigenous Launchpad for Entrepreneurs, IPF is opening pathways for early-stage Indigenous entrepreneurs to access learning, mentorship, funding readiness, and support as they build and grow their ideas. Through the
Through the Walk Together Tour, IPF is deepening relationships across regions, listening to community voices, and learning directly from the people and partners shaping Indigenous entrepreneurship on the ground.
IPF’s growing program ecosystem also includes mentorship, digital access, and the Early-Stage Entrepreneurship Program. Together, these pathways help move youth and entrepreneurs from learning to confidence, from confidence to action, and from action to opportunity. They also strengthen the people and organizations walking alongside entrepreneurs, including mentors, facilitators, advisors, Indigenous Financial Institutions, and regional partners.
Alongside this program growth, IPF has been building partnerships with community organizations, Indigenous Financial Institutions, funders, and ecosystem partners who understand that prosperity grows through relationships. These partnerships are helping move shared priorities into action. They create stronger pathways, strengthen access to resources, and help ensure that
entrepreneurs, youth, women, and communities are supported in ways that reflect their realities, strengths, and goals.
“These first years have been about listening, learning, building relationships, and creating a strong foundation. As we move forward, we are entering a new stage of growth — one focused on deepening our impact, strengthening our programs, and continuing to walk alongside communities and partners with purpose.”
- Michelle Okere, Executive Director.
That next stage is already taking shape. IPF is moving from its foundational years into a more programmatic and strategic phase of growth. This means strengthening what has been launched, building the systems needed to support scale, improving how impact is measured and shared, and continuing to position IPF as a connector within the Indigenous entrepreneurial ecosystem.
For Robynn Sadler, Youth Programs Manager at IPF, this next stage of program growth is especially exciting because it creates space for deeper, more intentional support for entrepreneurs.
“The cohort model allows us to be more intentional about how we support early-stage Indigenous entrepreneurs. It provides participants with structure, mentorship, and funding, while also creating space for relationships, shared learning, and long-term connections. That is where programs can become truly meaningful.”
- Robynn Sadler, Youth Program Manager.
Through this model, IPF is building a stronger pathway for entrepreneurs as they grow. Participants are accessing resources, mentorship, and funding while also becoming part of a learning community where confidence,
Relationships and opportunities can continue to build over time.
This is the work of expanding the circle. It is the work of building pathways, amplifying the strengths already present in communities, and creating connections that help people move forward. It is rooted in supporting Indigenous entrepreneurs, youth, women, and communities as they define and pursue success on their own terms.
For Marylou Linklater, Communications Coordinator at IPF, that momentum is becoming more visible through the stories, relationships, and opportunities emerging across the work.
“One of the most meaningful parts of this work is seeing the stories behind the progress. Every conversation, partnership, and success story reflects the strength that already exists within Indigenous communities. As more voices are shared and more connections are created, you can see the momentum building and the possibilities expanding.”
- Mary Lou Linklater, Communications Coordinator.
That momentum is helping shape IPF’s next chapter. Across programs, partnerships, community engagement, and storytelling, the work is becoming more connected and more intentional. Each relationship, story, and opportunity helps show what Indigenous prosperity can look like when people come together with shared purpose and a commitment to collective impact.
These stories bring the impact of the work to life. They are found in the entrepreneur who gains the confidence to take the next step, the youth who begins to see leadership in themselves, the community partner who opens a door for others, and the relationships that continue long after a program ends. Together, these moments show the power of people coming together around a shared vision for Indigenous prosperity.
As IPF looks ahead, the path is becoming clearer. We will continue to strengthen Money Smarts, grow Indigenous Launchpad for Entrepreneurs, expand mentorship, advance the Walk Together Tour, support digital access, build regional partnerships, and strengthen the tools, systems, stories, and relationships needed to sustain long-term impact.
We will also continue building our capacity for data, learning, and impact measurement so that we can better understand participant journeys, share outcomes with care, and support decision-making rooted in what communities, youth, entrepreneurs, and partners are experiencing. As the circle grows, so does the responsibility to carry the work with coordination, accountability, and purpose.
On National Indigenous Peoples Day, we celebrate the Indigenous excellence, leadership, creativity, and strength that continue to guide this work. We celebrate the entrepreneurs creating opportunities, the youth stepping forward, the women leading with strength, the Elders and knowledge keepers guiding the way, and the partners helping build a stronger ecosystem.
“This work is about collective movement. It is about building pathways, strengthening relationships, and supporting Indigenous entrepreneurs and communities as they continue to lead with vision, innovation, and purpose.”
- Michelle Okere, Executive Director.
The circle is expanding. The momentum is growing. The collective is moving forward. This is the future we are building together: one rooted in relationship, carried by community, and shaped by Indigenous excellence.