Indigenous entrepreneurs gather for business summit in Lethbridge

A day-long event for Indigenous entrepreneurs hosted by Business Link was held in Lethbridge on Tuesday for those looking to start or expand their business.

A panel of industry experts led a series of talks at the Indigenous Summit, offering advice to help businesses succeed, as well as critical information needed to set up shop on a reserve. A handful of information booths for Indigenous financing options available to entrepreneurs were set up too.

Conference organizer Holly Atjecoutay says reserves in Alberta are home to quite a few self-employed Indigenous people.

“They may not even realize they are an entrepreneur,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "They may not even realize they are an entrepreneur," she said.

“They may just be cooking meals for community events and getting paid for that, or they may be doing resumes and getting paid for that, or they may be making bead work and paintings.”

Take Kalum Teke Dan, for instance. He started doing artwork about 25 years ago on the Blood Reserve, before setting up shop in Calgary.

“It was my hobby that turned into my job and now I’m a full-time artist,” he said. “I never thought of it as being an entrepreneur until maybe in the last five years.”

Teke Dan says he now travels the country and had his work featured at the Calgary Stampede. He made the drive down to Tecconnect in Lethbridge for the summit, with a table full of his work, offering the following advice to budding entrepreneurs.

“Never give up. Follow your dreams,” he said. “Be true to your craft and genuinely, if you’re true to your craft, it should work out in the end.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Never give up. Follow your dreams," he said. "Be true to your craft and genuinely, if you're true to your craft, it should work out in the end."

Budding entrepreneur Rick Soup is currently working towards setting up a delivery service on the Blood Reserve. He says owning his own business had always been a dream and he hopes to inspire others along the way.

“I would like to be able to, in the long run, show other reserve members that this can be done,” Soup said.

Organizers estimate up 70 Indigenous entrepreneurs visited the summit.