Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Lisa Mitten http://www.nativeculturelinks.com/indians.html

Lisa is a mixed-blood Mohawk urban Indian, formerly a librarian for 14 years at the University of Pittsburgh. In August 2000, I became the Social Sciences Subject Editor for anthropology, history, and sociology for CHOICE Magazine, the premiere academic book review journal for libraries. If you are a faculty member who has taught undergraduates within the last three years, please consider applying to be a reviewer for Choice. You can apply online at the Choice Reviewers Website.

Her goal is to facilitate communication among Native peoples and between Indians and non-Indians by providing access to home pages of Native American Nations and organizations, and to other sites that provide solid information about American Indians.

Della Cheney http://juneauempire.com/stories/060508/loc_286670587.shtml

Cheney, 60, who is originally from Kake, learned to weave in a class at the University of Alaska Southeast in 1993. Her brother, Norman L. Jackson from Kake, a well-known carver who died May 18, taught her to appreciate art.Cheney, whose Tlingit name is Kaats saa waa, teaches Native culture at Floyd Dryden Middle School in Juneau, where she shares with her students a list of values describing "Our Way of Life," written during the 2004 Elders Forum on Traditional Values. Respect for nature, patience, and pride in family and clan are just a few of the items on the list she refers to when talking about art. Without an understanding of the values, she can't make her cedar-bark hats or baskets, she said, "because it's coming from inside out."

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Lois Chichinoff Thadei http://www.alaskanativeartists.com/lois_chichinoff_thadei.htm

Lois Chichinoff Thadei is an Aleut born into a Tlingit and Haida community in Southeast Alaska. She is a 4th generation artist displaced from Unga, a now unpopulated community on Unga Island of the Aleutian Chain. Her father, Louis Thadei, Jr., was a self-taught artist born in Ketchikan. He embellished found objects focusing on multi media and collage. Her aunt, Johanna Chichinoff Paddock Snyder, was a designer and skin sewer. In Lois’ family, creativity was expected, and neither discouraged nor encouraged. Creativity was just a part of everyday life. “Weaving is the core of my creative expression,” Lois said. “Guided by ancient hands and echoes of voices recently passed, I manipulate materials – the pieces determine their own dimension and form. I offer only the hands, while others are the heart and soul of my work.”

Wanda Loescher Culp http://www.alaskanativeartists.com/wanda_culp.htm

Kashudoha (Wanda Loescher Culp) is Chookeneidi (Eagle-Brown Bear Clan), descendant from Glacier Bay, Alaska, grandchild of Luk’naxadi (Raven-Coho Clan) of Lituya Bay on the outer coast near Yakutat. Born and raised in Juneau in 1948, Kashudoha moved to Hoonah (the home of the Chookeneidi) with her two daughters. She now lives between Hoonah, Excursion Inlet and Juneau.

Yvette Lynn Diltz http://www.alaskanativeartists.com/yvette_lynn_diltz.htm Yvette Lynn Diltz is one of five children of Sharon (Hudson) Diltz, who was a Tsimshian from the Eagle clan of Metlakatla, Alaska and William Diltz, of German-American descent, who was raised in Boys Town in Nebraska. Yvette grew up in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. She is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Art where she studied painting and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1998. She currently lives in Seattle with her husband, Kim, who is an artist and fellow graduate of the University.

Myra Doré http://www.alaskanativeartists.com/myra_dore.htm

She was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska. Her parents were Assunta Rudolph of the Takdeintaan Clan and Paul Rudolph, Sr., of the Yun Yei Dei Clan. She is an accomplished beader who spends much of her time making beautiful moccasins, regalia, tunics and blankets for her Native dance group Leeng'it Kust'i.

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Anna Brown Ehlers http://www.alaskanativeartists.com/anna_ehlers.htm

Anna Brown Ehlers was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska. Her parents' ancestral home is Klukwan, Alaska, in the Chilkat Valley. Northern Tlingit are renown as the cultural heritage bearers of the indigenous art form; Chilkat blanket weaving. Jenny Thlunaut, the last Chilkat weaver of Klukwan, took Anna on as a student at the age of 92. Jenny was the best friend of Mary Betts, Anna's paternal grandmother. Anna grew up watching Jenny and Mary do beadwork, skin sewing and weaving. Feasting on Indian food was a favorite past-time.

Lani Hotch http://www.alaskanativeartists.com/lani_hotch.htm

Lani first began weaving with her grandmother Kaa.it, Jennie Warren, when she was 17 years old. Lani wanted to learn because she didn't want this art form to die and because she wanted to continue the legacy of weaving in her family that was started by her great-great grandmother Saantaas' (English name unknown). Lani's great-great-grandmother passed her knowledge of weaving on to her great-grandmother-- Ak.la, Mary Willard, who in turn taught her daughter Jennie. Lani is proud of this heritage of weavers in her family and was disappointed when her grandmother died before they could complete a blanket. Fortunately master weavers Jennie Thlunaut and Cheryl Samuel were willing to share their knowledge of weaving with her and she has been able to continue learning.

Clarissa Husdon http://www.alaskanativeartists.com/clarissa_hudson.htm

I was born in 1956 in Juneau, Alaska, a few years before Alaska became the 49th state. My mother, Irene, is Tlingit Indian from the village of Hoonah, Alaska; my father, William, is Filipino American from Seattle, WA. I was introduced to Alaskan Native art while in high school, when I produced my first carved cedar box. During the next year, I met master Tlingit dancer and regalia-maker Harry K. Bremner, Sr., who invited me to join his touring dance troupe, the Mt. St. Elias Dancers from Yakutat, Alaska. Around the same time, I met my future husband, Bill Hudson. After the birth of our first child, I began making custom clothing and hats for family and friends. Hudson & I started decorating our house and furniture with Northwest Coast Indian art, teaching ourselves the intricacies of formline design along the way. A few years later, I became interested in landscaping, and soon found myself the owner of Kahtahah Landscape Gardeners, a company which developed and maintained a lush, naturalized garden for Sealaska Corporation, one of Juneau's largest companies.

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

E.Pauline Johnson http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/garvin/poets/johnson.html

EMILY PAULINE JOHNSON (Tekahionwake) was born at 'Chiefswood' on her father's estate, in the Reserve near Brantford, Ontario, in 1862. She was the youngest of four children, and early showed a marked tendency towards the reading and the writing of rhymes.

Her father was the late G. H. M. Johnson (Onwanonsyshon), Head Chief of the Six Nations Indians, and a descendant of one of the fifty noble families of Hiawatha's Confederation, founded four centuries ago. Her mother was Emily S. Howells, of Bristol, England.

Pauline's education in school lore was meagre,–a nursery governess for two years, attendance at an Indian day school, near her home, for three years, and two finishing years at the Brantford Central School–but her education in the School of Nature was extensive, and that with her voracious reading–of poetry particularly–and retentive memory, richly stored her naturally keen mind.

As a poet and recitalist, Miss Johnson won her first distinction of note in 1892, when she took part, in Toronto, in an unique entertainment of Canadian literature, read or recited by the authors themselves. Miss Johnson's contribution was 'A Cry From an Indian Wife,' which presented the Redman's view of the North-West Rebellion, and won for the author the only encore of the evening. The next day the Toronto press so eulogized her performance and spread her fame, that another entertainment was quickly arranged for, to be given, two weeks later, entirely by herself. Her best known poem 'The Song My Paddle Sings', was written for this occasion. There followed a series of recitals throughout Canada, in the hope that their financial success would be such as to enable the poet to go to England and submit her poems to a London publisher. In two years this object was attained, and The White Wampum appeared. It was received with enthusiasm by the critics and the public generally. Pauline Johnson had 'arrived,' and as a poet and entertainer she was henceforth in demand in the British Isles, as well as in Canada and the United States.

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Marie Laws http://www.alaskanativeartists.com/marie_laws.htm

Marie Laws is Tlingit, Raven from the T'akdeintaan clan. Her Tlingit name is L'Daanaat. Marie has had formal art training in painting, sculpture, clay, stone, weaving and wood carving. She has demonstrated and interpreted Northwest Coast art forms at the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center where she was involved in the design and weaving of two ceremonial robes.

Recently Marie was an instructor in the Alaska State Council on the Arts Master/Apprentice Program. Marie has attended symposiums and workshops in New Zealand and throughout the Pacific Northwest. Her works in weaving, carving and paper-making have been exhibited in New Zealand as wellas in many venues throughout the U.S. and Alaska.

Charlotte McConnell http://www.alaskanativeartists.com/charlotte_mcconnell.htm

Charlotte McConnell is an Eagle-Bear Bear (Teikweidi) from the Bear House (Xoots hit) in Angoon. Her mother is from Angoon and her father is from Juneau. Charlotte taught herself to bead in the 1990s.As a young girl, she attended school at Mt. Edgecumbe and Wrangell Institute. She now makes her home in Juneau, Alaska.

Helen Mercado http://www.alaskanativeartists.com/helen_mercado.htm

Helen Mercado was born in Juneau, Alaska to Jennie and Mack Mercado. Two of her passions are beading and painting drums. Being a Tlingit, she enjoys beading Raven's Tail medicine bags, earrings, barrettes, pins and numerous other items.

Kathleen Westlake http://www.alaskanativeartists.com/kathleen_westlake.htm

Kathleen Westlake was born in Nome and grew up in the Arctic in the Villages of Nome, Barrow, Atqasuk, Point Hope, and Kotzebue. Her father is Inupiaq and her mother is English, Irish, Blackfoot and French Canadian. Coming from such a rich cultural background, she was inspired by the cultural arts she saw practiced as she grew up.

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Kathleen has earned statewide and national acclaim as a doll maker: The White House has displayed Kathleen's dolls and one of her dolls is in the personal collection of an Alaska governor. In addition, she was judged Best Doll Maker by jurors in a 2000 Kotzebue art competition, and she received the highest honor for dolls given in the Nunaptinni Savaktit Katimmaviat 2002 Art Competition. The dolls of Ethel Washington have especially been an inspiration to her in her work.

Celeste Worl http://www.alaskanativeartists.com/celeste_worl.htm

Celeste Worl was born in 1957 in Southeast Alaska. Being Tlingit from the Northwest Coast, she was surrounded by a family of totem pole carvers, basket weavers and beaders. Growing up as a part of a tribe, she often went fishing and collected berries, clams and gum boots with her relatives.

She learned how to bead and gather from her grandmother, who also taught her the smell of bears and how to keep the fire going in the smoke house. Celeste's mother, Rosita Worl, vigorously impressed upon Celeste the traditional ways of Tlingit culture and tribal life. Under her mother's guidance, she began to work for the Alaska State Museum giving lectures to schools throughout Alaska on Alaska Native art, history and culture.

Heather Henry http://www.nativeonline.com/heather.htm

Artist's Statement: My immediate environment has been a significant factor in the contemplation that inspires my work. Being First Nations (Ojibway) in an urban setting has created challenges. The history of my reserve and my family have shaped my ideas of who I am. Personal exploration of 'self' and possessing a space whether familiar or new are the ideas explored in my paintings. My relationship with different physical landscapes and the memories of growing up on a reserve have deeply influenced my work to date. Living in urban settings and being educated from a European perspective has brought me to closely examine what it means to be a First Nations artist in the contemporary art world. Meshing the two worlds together is what I continue to explore in my work.

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Laura Asbell http://www.antlerjewelry.com/the_artist.htm

Laura was taught to bead at a very young age by her aunt. Laura is a Quaniult Indian. She grew up on the Quaniult Indian Reservation, which is located on the Pacific Oceans Northwest Coast of Washington State. A long narrow strip of rugged coastal terrain stretching from southern Alaska to northern California is inhabited by 28 native peoples collectively called the Northwest Coast Indians. Laura has lived in Alaska for 18 years. Laura's husband, Craig, cuts, carves, and polishes all of the caribou antler and ivory.

Ruth Wilbur-Peterson www.petersongalleries.com/artists_profile/rwp_prof.htm

Ruth was born in Bellingham WA, in 1960. She moved to the Skokomish Reservation in 1974. In 1975 she married Andy Wilbur-Peterson (a renowned artist). In the mid 70's she was introduced to the traditional life style and the arts of the Salish culture from Skokomish Elders. She learned to make baskets and gather basket materials from Master Basket-makers from both Skokomish and Chehalis Tribes, such as, Louisa Pulisfer, Emily Miller, Bruce Miller, Hazel Pete and Yvonne Peterson. While making baskets, she was told legends that still inspire her work today. Prior to her carving career, she made traditional clothing such as; dresses, shirts and button-blankets with her husband. In the late 70's, Ruth's husband taught her the basics of graphics and carvings. In 1990, after a severe burn to her hand, Ruth began to seriously carve wood as part of her physical therapy regime. Her current work includes; carving silver, mask, spirit-panels, drums, rattles, masks, button-blankets and dolls with carved faces, hands and feet, dressed in traditional regalia. She also spins and weaves wool.

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Janice Toulouse Shingwaak http://www.nativeonline.com/janice.htm

A Descendent of Ojibwa Chief Shingwaak of Garden River, Janice Toulouse-Shingwaak Lives and works in Vancouver. She was born and raised on the Serpent River First Nations and received her art education at the Emil Carr college of Art and Design, Vancouver and Concordia University, Montreal (Master of Fine Arts, 1985)

She was attracted to the Toulouse area of southern France, where she spent time in the early nineties, absorbing the lessons of European modernism without losing sight of her cultural and artistic roots. Her large paintings employ soft lyrical washes of colour and wisps of images, often combined with overlays of scrims, creating three dimensional fields of colour.

Toulouse-Shingwaak's most recent project is her collaboration with Loonard Beam. The Travelling Alter Native Medicine Show which was organized by Grunt Gallery In Vancouver. She has been featured in solo exhibitions with Grunt and Western Front in Vancouver, Galerie Parent and Espace Saint Cyprien in Tolouse, Fulgence Gallery, Paris . This is her first exhibition in Sault Ste Marie.

Susan Point http://www.susanpoint.com/index.php?mpage=susan

Coast Salish artist Susan Point was born in Alert Bay, British Columbia, on April 5, 1952. Since birth Susan has lived on the Musqueam First Nation Reservation in Vancouver, B.C. Susan began her art career in 1981 with engravings on bracelets, rings, pendants, earrings and barrettes. Although many of her contemporaries were producing designs which were representative of more northern native groups, she chose to concentrate on the designs of her own people. Consulting with her uncle, Professor Michael Kew, an anthropologist at the University of British Columbia, Susan began to investigate traditional Coast Salish art forms. One of the forms that intrigued her was the Spindle Whorl, a wooden disk, elaborately carved, which was used in the spinning of wool. Using silkscreen prints, Point

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

began experimenting with traditional two-dimensional designs. Her first print was "Salmon". This design is of four salmon in a circular format, recalling the spindle whorls Susan had studied during this period, revealing a mastery of the traditional Coast Salish style. KAJOLA MOREWOOD http://www.nativeonline.com/kajola.htm

I was born in Montreal to an Inuit woman and adopted into a white family. My parents gave me an Inuit name in an effort to recognize the culture from which I came. The photographs I am currently working on relate to 50's white culture. The project stems out of a recipe book that my grandmother had from the time she got married. It is, I suppose, a commentary on the place of women in the home. Or maybe I just like to bake.

Judith Morgan http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/exhibits/timemach/galler03/frames/morgan.htm

Judith Morgan was born in 1930 in the small Gitksan village of Kitwanga on the Skeena River. Her father was a Tsimshian Chief and her mother was also descended from chiefs. To give Judith the opportunity for a better education, her parents sent her to the Alberni Indian Residential School on Vancouver Island. Here she was taught by the art teacher and artist, George Sinclair, who encouraged her in her work. While still a teenager, Judith won an award from the B.C. Indian Art and Welfare Society. This allowed her to study the designs and carvings of west coast Native art held at the Provincial Museum and the Provincial Archives in Victoria. In 1949 the Provincial Archives of British Columbia purchased five of her paintings. She also had twenty of her paintings exhibited at the National Museum of Canada in 1949. Most of these paintings were done in pastels and were described by The Gazette as portraying "the traditional customs and haunting legends of the British Columbia Indians".(MacDonald, Colin S., A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Vol. 4, 1974, p. 1279).

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Kathie Bird http://members.shaw.ca/kat.bird/

Born and raised in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, I have a love and kinship with the images I find in my home area. My creations depict visions from my daily external and internal experiences: reflections of a rich myriad of cultures and colors. Currently working primarily in watermedia, I also experiment with a variety of mediums, including photography and stained glass. I invite you to also visit my poetry page. Since childhood, artwork has been a part of who I am. Numerous pieces have been sold to individuals and companies spanning North America. I have also combined my art and social/psychology backgrounds to offer workshops in developing creativity and art therapy. Angelina Bowen http://haislaweaver.com/about_the_artist

Lives in Chilliwack British Columbia, with her two kids. She is a status indian from Kitamaat (Haisla Nation) reserve's Robinson family, on

her birthmother side. Angelina's grandmother is Lydia Robinson, and her biological great grandmother and grandfather were Elsie and Sampson Robinson. Angelina is proud to say that her children, and herself, are from the Eagle Clan. Her birth father, Robert (Bob) Nebone, was French Canadian, and was killed by an impaired driver in Manitoba. He was an amazing man, and was in her life until she was adopted. She also has found her birth sister, Candice, who, when you meet her, you can't help but smile, laugh, and appreciate who she is as a person. Some amazing role models have come from Haisla!

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Donna Lynn Debassige Brinkworth http://www.ojibwe-art.ca/

I am an Ojibwe First Nations artist based in Edmonton, Alberta. I have been exploring the Northeastern Native or Woodlands style and am inspired by such artists as Norval Morrisseau and Daphne Odjig. The style is characterized by energy

or spirit lines in or around the beings in the painting. I enjoy painting bears and birds, and other Canadian wildlife. Pat Bruderer

http://www.halfmoonstudios.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65&Itemid=70

Pat Bruderer - Half Moon Woman Nation: Cree Home Town: Churchill, Manitoba Lives Now: Chase, B. C.,

Canada. Today, Half Moon Woman (Pat Bruderer) is one of less than a handful of remaining artists

marketing these one of a kind art forms available to collectors and museums. Half Moon shares her

valuable knowledge with youth through her workshops and she fascinates various groups and

associations creating these eloquent, Birch Bark Bitings live.

Half Moon’s art can be viewed in Museums and Art Centers across Canada and the United States. Also

gifted to dignitaries and private collections around the world.

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Mary Anne Caibaiosai http://www.bearpawgallery.com/main.html (pics on website don’t come up)

I am an Ojibway (Bear Clan) from the Sagamok Reserve in Ontario, Canada and I’ve been drawing since I was very young. I completed a Creative Arts program in Sault Ste. Marie. My first exhibit was in Ottawa, and I have exhibited my works across Canada, the U.S. and most recently in the United Arab Emirates where I represented Canada at a 'Women in the Arts' Exhibit.

The purpose of my portraits is to capture the strength, dignity and enduring spirit of the elders and historical figures. Though my strengths are pencil works, I also enjoy the melding and softness of watercolours, which allows me to portray sensitivity and strength of spirit.

Many of my inspirations are drawn from travels to Central and South America. These works often reflect the similarities of the North American and South American indigenous peoples and depict the ongoing struggles of these indigenous peoples.

Like my relatives in Canada and U.S., they’ve overcome the forces of military rule, poverty and the church; yet have kept their vibrant culture and language alive. They are like us....we have survived!

Joane Cardinal-Schubert http://www.willockandsaxgallery.com/c-s1.htm

Cardinal-Schubert was a well-respected senior artist from the Blood Nation, and was an active advocate among native artists in Canada. In 1985, she became the fourth woman in Alberta to be inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and she was awarded the Commemorative Medal of Canada in 1993. Joane Cardinal-Schubert passed away on September 16, 2009, she was 67 years old. Her voice is sadly missed.

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Judy Chartrand http://www.judychartrand.com/

I am a Manitoba Cree (urban), born in Kamloops, BC and raised in Vancouver's downtown eastside, an area sometimes referred to as "skid row." I come from a family of thirteen children and was pretty much raised in complete poverty where the only "visual art" we had hanging on the walls of our home at any given time was a probably a calendar. My interest in art began at a very early age. I used to spent quite a bit of time looking at the collection of the Vancouver Museum which was located at the corner of Main & Hastings street. I also recall forgoing breakfast in order to paint in a kindergarten teacher's class before school started.

Laura Corbier http://www.aloradesigns.ca/index_files/home.htm (pics won’t copy on website)

Owen Sound, Ontario Aboriginal, Jewelry, Painter

Artist portfolio with online purchasing of one-of-a-kind gem stone jewelry and art. Oil paintings are bold in colour and rich in texture, often reflecting a multi-spiritual theme including artist's native heritage with wiccian or newage spiritualism.

Sarah Miller http://studioyaahlphotography.blogspot.com/

Sarah began her love for photography when she was a young child and at any given moment always had a camera in her hands documenting the world through her eyes. Her favourite style of work is in black and white at the macro level. It is this work that affords us the audience to see things that we might have otherwise overlooked. Sarah's attention to detail shows in all her work.

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Dr. Jessica A. Rickert (Potawatomi) is the first female Native American dentist

In 1975 Jessica Rickert, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, DDS, became the first recognized American Indian woman dentist. When this descendent of Chief Whitepigeon attended the University of Michigan School of Dentistry in the early 1970s, she was the only American Indian in a class of about 150 students. This was also a time when there were very few female dentists or female dental students. In 2005 Rickert received the American Dental Association's 2005 Access Recognition Award for leadership in helping people in need gain access to dental care. In particular, she was nominated for her work educating American Indians on dental care and encouraging them to pursue careers in the field. In 2009 she was honored for her work by being inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame. http://aianhealthcareers.org/page32/page34/page42/page42.html

Star Nayea

NAMA Award winning artist (Anishnabe/Ojibway)performed at NABA's 2006 National Business/Procurement Conference.

When Star Nayea was only two months old, she was taken from her Native American family because of the 1950s-70s baby sweep perpetrated by the United States and Canada. Despite the good intentions of the Lutheran Social Services of Detroit, Michigan, she landed an extremely abusive adoptive family that did not share her heritage. After several years of pain and struggle, she escaped her adoptive family and began to reach for her dreams of musical freedom. While the experience and circumstances that brought Star Nayea to Detroit were unfortunate to say the least, the surrounding Motor City Rock and Roll scene and the raved about MO-Town sound influenced and shaped her tastes as she grew into the young woman with the unique soulful style. Star began her musical career in her home town of Detroit, but it was not long before she was selling out shows in New York City, Los Angeles, and more. http://www.starnayea.com/

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Jackie Gant

NABA National Executive Director Jackie Gant (Oneida Nation of the Thames) was featured in Crain's Detroit Business.

Harvard-educated Jackie Gant, 47, is weary of being asked what percentage of business affiliated with the Native American Business Alliance concerns the casinos. It waves a red flag to the executive director, who struggles for higher visibility in segments such as automotive, logistics and technology. “We don’t get the spotlight and recognition that other minority groups may get,” said Gant, whose job for the past four years is to work with corporations and businesses for expanded procurement and job possibilities. With 300 company memberships and a database of 12,000 business people, her roster includes Rush Trucking, Systrand Manufacturing, Choctaw-Kaul Distribution Co. and Arrowhead Logistics. But the bigger work is education, helping prepare entrepreneurs to compete in a global economy. The alliance is teaming with Michigan State University this spring for an on-campus business boot camp. Classes will include infrastructure development, accounting, management, patent and technology support, and a written business plan. http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20080414/SUB/887400424/1068

Andra Rush NABA Board Member Andra Rush (Mohawk) was recently featured in Women's Enterprise USA.

Andra Rush, a Native American, is the founder (1984) and CEO of Rush Trucking, Inc., Wayne, Michigan. Today, Rush Trucking is the largest Native American – Owned Business (a MBE-Minority Business Enterprise) in the USA. Corporate headquarters are in Wayne. Additional facilities are located in Ontario, Canada, Atlanta, GA., Louisville, KY, Chicago, IL and Saint Louis, MO. Ms. Rush is a Native

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

American, descendant of the Mohawk Tribe from the Six-Nation Reservation, Bay of Quinte Tribe near Branford, Ontario in Canada. She is the proud mother of three boys; Zack (14), Cheyne (13) and Chance (8). With her BS in Nursing, Rush began her business career by combining a full time nursing position, working evenings and weekends, with a day and night school program that included pursuing a masters degree in business. As part of her masters program she accepted a summer internship at an air freight company, Timely Air Freight. With mentoring from the owner, Rush became interested in the trucking industry. Convinced of its growth potential, in 1984 she embarked on her entrepreneurial career by founding Rush Trucking. http://www.mbrt.net/board/andra-rush.html

Sharon Cannarsa NABA Board Member Sharon Cannarsa (Mohawk) was honored as one of Crain's Most Influential Women in 2007

Cannarsa says her proudest current achievement is keeping her company, a tier-one supplier of precision machining and assembly, healthy during the struggles of the Detroit 3. Cannarsa, 59, got her start in business in the early 1970s, when she worked for Canco

Manufacturing in Detroit, which made oil couplings for the drilling industry. She eventually became president, CEO and then owner. She started Systrand with her husband in southwest Detroit in 1982. He remains involved in the business, as do their two sons.In 2001, the company created Systrand Presta, a joint venture with a division of ThyssenKrupp, a full-service supplier of assembled camshafts. In 2002, Systrand acquired a South Korean operation. The two have revenue of $35 million and $10 million, respectively, with total company revenue achieving $80 million. http://www.crainsdetroit.com/apps/pbcs.dll/dcce?Date=20071008&Module=100&Type=MIW07&ID=373230&Selected=17&nomdcache=1

Cristy Johnson, Cristy's Jewelry Designs

http://www.bcachievement.com/aboriginalbusiness/recipient.php?id=1

The 2008 Aboriginal Business Award recipients: Young Female Aboriginal Entrepreneur of the Year Cristy Johnson, Cristy’s Jewelry Designs, Victoria. Cristy Johnson, from the Nlaka’pamux First Nation, owns Cristy’s Jewelry Designs, which offers one-of-a-kind handcrafted jewelry made of sterling silver and semiprecious stones. Operating for just over two years, Johnson is the sole proprietor of her business and handles most aspects of business operations, including design, production, marketing and sales.

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Cristy Johnson, from the Niaka'pamux First Nation owns Cristy's Jewelry Designs offering one-of-a-kind

handcrafted jewelry made of sterling silver and semiprecious stones. Operating for just over two years,

Ms. Johnson is the sole proprietor of her business and handles most aspects of business operations

including design, production, marketing and sales. Her jewelry is sold to retail stores, through her

website and directly to customers and most recently garnered national recognition at a major music

event.

Tryna Gower http://www.trynagowerphotography.com/ -Photographer, Dawson Creek - Business of

the Year - One to Two Person Enterprise

Tryna Gower Photography, Dawson Creek. Tryna Gower is a photographer who operates an indoor and

outdoor photography studio in Dawson Creek, producing commercial work but emphasizing the artistic

side of the process. The business includes a mobile photography studio that travels throughout B.C. and

northern Alberta.

http://www.enewsletters.gov.bc.ca/Aboriginal_Relations_and_Reconciliation/The_New_Relationship_R

eview/Spring_2009/First-

Ever_BC_Aboriginal_Business_Awards_Honour_Achievements_in_Business/article#The_2008_Aborigina

l_Business_Award_recipients

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Meagan Pierre

http://www.enewsletters.gov.bc.ca/Aboriginal_Relations_and_Reconciliation/The_New_Relationship_R

eview/Spring_2009/First-

Ever_BC_Aboriginal_Business_Awards_Honour_Achievements_in_Business/article#The_2008_Aborigina

l_Business_Award_recipients

Best of the BEST Award - Meagan Pierre – OWN Spa, Penticton (couldn’t find Spa website)

Meagan Pierre’s winning business idea is to operate the OWN spa, which will provide customers in

Penticton with a full array of esthetician services using 100 per cent organic natural product line. OWN

means “One With Nature”.

Melanie Goodchild Ojibway,Pic River First Nation, Ontario - Film Producer, Entrepreneur

http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/ss/pubs/wnm/wnm-eng.asp

"Receiving recognition for my work is always an honour, but gaining the respect of those around me has been one of my strongest motivations. I work very hard at what I do and the barriers I encounter strengthen my will to challenge myself. I have felt overwhelmed by the odds of being a young Native woman working in the field of high technology, but I have never felt defeated."

Just 25 years old, Melanie Goodchild already has numerous achievements behind her. She is the owner of Raindancer Interactive, a successful multi-media communications consulting and design firm, and has also established herself in the film industry. Her productions have been broadcast on national television and screened at the prestigious Smithsonian Institute Museum of the American Indian. In 1993 she received the Broadcaster of the Future Aboriginal Peoples Internship Award from Global Television Network. Melanie is an advocate for Aboriginal youth and entrepreneurship, and she is currently national director of the Aboriginal Youth Business Council.

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Melanie became active in First Nations and youth issues as a young teenager, and she has been honoured with the Ontario Native Women's Association Award, YTV National Youth Achievement Award, and a Canada Day Youth Citizenship Award. She speaks publicly in Canada and the United States on issues such as self-esteem, new technologies, entrepreneurship, and the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse. Melanie is also finding the time to complete her undergraduate degree in sociology part-time at Carleton University.

Brandy Kanayuk Inuit, Pond Inlet, Northwest Territories - Post-Secondary Student (Pre-Nursing Studies)

"I really love to do things that will have a good impact on the young people. It seemed that the things that I thought were never going to happen to me just happened....Although I'm not the best person in the world, God has helped me to be a good person and to do what is best not only for myself, but for other people."

Before Brandy Kanayuk was born, her mother prayed that her new daughter would be the kind of person who would always help others. Although only 20 years old, Brandy is already fulfilling that wish. In her community and through her participation in the Pond Inlet Youth Committee, the Baffin Region Youth Council, the Tuniit Elders Group, and the school student council, Brandy's commitment to her people is clear. Brandy has also travelled throughout Canada as a youth representative in workshops, conferences, and north-south student exchanges.

At high school, Brandy regularly won awards for achievement, citizenship, Inuktitut, and academic excellence. She has performed cultural theatre and song in Yellowknife, Regina, and Toronto, at the Spirit of the Arctic Pavilion at the Canadian National Exhibition in 1995. She has worked at the Pond Inlet Housing Corporation and the local health centre. In 1996, she was selected as a National Native Role Model because of her demonstrated leadership within her community. The National Native Role Model Program honours those persons who represent, through their words and actions, the traditions of wisdom, love, respect, bravery, honesty, humility, and truth.

Brandy is now completing a one-year nursing access program at Aurora College in Yellowknife in preparation for entry to nursing school.

http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/ss/pubs/wnm/wnm-eng.asp

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Sharla Howard Mohawk, Kanehsatake First Nation, Quebec - University Student (Civil Engineering)

"I would encourage anyone who thinks they might be interested in sciences and engineering...to go for it! The most important ingredients for success are hard work, determination, and a true interest in what you are doing."

At 22 years of age, Sharla Howard is no stranger to recognition. The National Aboriginal Achievement Award she won in 1995 as a youth recipient is the most prestigious of her many honours. As a CEGEP student at John Abbott College in Quebec, she was on the honour roll from 1991?1993, and she has received awards for being the most outstanding student and for attaining the highest average in her high school.

Sharla excels in more than academics. As an athlete, she won four gold medals at the 1990 First North American Indigenous Games. She now competes at university intramural games in a variety of sports and in a volleyball city league.

Sharla is currently completing a Bachelor of Applied Science in civil engineering at the University of Waterloo through a co-op program. Her co-op placements have included work with the provincial government, a manufacturing plant, and a consulting firm specializing in geotechnical and environmental engineering. In addition, she has worked as a teaching assistant to first-year engineering students. She has continued to be recognized for academic excellence through scholarships and is regularly on the dean's honour roll. Sharla believes her training in engineering strengthens her stamina, as well as her skills in problem solving, management, decision making, communication, and team work -- capacities that she feels provide a solid basis for many fields of study.

http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/ss/pubs/wnm/wnm-eng.asp

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Mary "Jill" Johnson, B.Sc. Micmac, Chapel Island First Nation, Nova Scotia - University Student (Education)

"The two goals that I am reaching for focus on helping people and this is what I want to achieve. From my experience, I would say to other young people, before setting your goals, explore all available possibilities and then make a decision that is best for you."

Mary "Jill" Johnson's professional goals are grounded in her personal commitment to help people. She has settled on two possible career choices: high-school teacher or forensic scientist with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Jill, age 23, is now preparing herself for both these roles. She has a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and is now in her first year of a Bachelor of Education at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

Jill also participated in the RCMP Aboriginal Youth Training Program and has worked two summers as an RCMP Special Constable. During high school, she was a peer drug educator, working with junior high students. In addition to the university scholarships she received upon graduation from high school, Jill was honoured by her high school in 1991 with a National Women's Day Award in International Studies.

http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/ss/pubs/wnm/wnm-eng.asp

Renae Morriseau Saulteaux/Cree, Peguis First Nation, Manitoba - Filmmaker, Actor, Writer

"Especially our young women, they need to develop their skills in the ever-changing technology of today's world. It's important to be aware of the technological advances in computer developments and science. These skills are necessary for our communities to be involved with the greater community of Canada."

Renae Morriseau is familiar as the character Ellen in the television series North of 60, but her accomplishments in broadcasting extend far beyond this visible role. In her determination to ensure that First Nations voices are heard and stories told, Renae's career over the last dozen years has spanned acting, filmmaking, writing, and producing.

Renae, age 36, was first introduced to television broadcasting when working at the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre in Winnipeg. Her Within the Circle programs, which were shown on the local community

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

cable station, became teaching tools for the centre. Renae went on to co-host, write, and produce segments for First Nations, a nationally broadcast Aboriginal news magazine program.

In 1991, Renae created the Coyote Collective, a group of First Nations producers, directors, technicians, and writers from across Canada who are dedicated to advancing First Nations issues through broadcast television. Her documentaries have won critical acclaim. In both 1994 and 1995, her work was honoured as best documentary by the Native American Journalists Association. In 1996, the American Indian Film Festival awarded her a Best Public Service plaque for her documentary, Echoes of the Sister, about First Nations women and breast cancer, and an organization that showcases excellence in Canadian television, CANPRO, awarded her a Silver Medal Award for The Medicine Wheel.

Renae works with young people in leadership workshops and television training. She believes that this generation must take an active role in their communities.

http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/ss/pubs/wnm/wnm-eng.asp

Mary Jane McCallum, D.M.D.

Cree, Barren Lands First Nation, Manitoba - Dentist

"The concept of failure has stopped many people from pursuing their dreams or doing their best....It's okay to be afraid. Beating fear is a great accomplishment. We have to believe in ourselves in order to overcome fear. Realizing that others have overcome their fear of failure has helped me in my time of need."

Aboriginal children in Manitoba do not have to look far to find an inspirational role model in their midst. Over the last 25 years, Dr. Mary Jane McCallum has been providing dental services to the province's First Nations communities. Literally living the phrase "learning the business from the bottom up," Mary Jane first worked as a travelling dental assistant throughout Manitoba. She went back to school on three separate occasions to gain new skills, graduating as a dental nurse in 1977, then obtaining a Dental Therapy Diploma in 1979, and ultimately receiving her Doctor of Dental Medicine degree in 1990. Except for a brief stint as an assistant professor for the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Manitoba after completing her dentistry degree, Mary Jane has devoted her professional career to serving the rural and

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

remote First Nations communities of Manitoba. At age 44, she recently assumed the position of regional dental officer for the Manitoba region of the Medical Services Branch of Health Canada.

Throughout her work, Mary Jane has come into close contact with Aboriginal children. She is particularly concerned about the negative feelings these young people may have about their worth in society. As might be expected from someone who has achieved so much during her life, Mary Jane finds in failure both an inspiration and the strength to overcome setbacks.

http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/ss/pubs/wnm/wnm-eng.asp

Miriam McNab, B.A., M.A.

Cree, Gordon First Nation, Saskatchewan - University Lecturer, Researcher

"Needing to...understand all that my people had suffered and lost motivated me to achieve a higher education.... I get to help others, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, learn about our people and our past. And I, in turn, go on learning from research and from the many people I meet along the way."

It was Miriam McNab's desire to understand her people's past that led her to her profession. In her search to find out what being a "Treaty Indian" meant, she became an educator. Miriam now shares her knowledge of Aboriginal culture and history with students at the Native Studies Department of the University of Saskatchewan and occasionally at the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College at the University of Regina.

Miriam studied cultural anthropology and Native studies for her undergraduate and graduate degrees. Her master's thesis in 1992 examined how a northern Saskatchewan trapping community has changed and coped with the European influences of this century. At age 39, Miriam remains a researcher as well as a teacher, and she has lectured and written about Aboriginal women in Canada. She recently contributed an article on Aboriginal women's issues to The Canadian Encyclopedia Plus, and she has written numerous articles for the Aboriginal press, most notably on animal rights and trapping.

http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/ss/pubs/wnm/wnm-eng.asp

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Stephanie Redman

Dakota/Sioux, Standing Buffalo First Nation, Saskatchewan University Student (Pre-Medical

Studies)

"BALANCE is the one word that I use to describe my life. Being deeply involved in academics, athletics, and culture, I manage to maintain a happy and fulfilled state of mind....Whatever an individual's dream may be, they must find a comfortable balance amongst the things that are important to them. For it is this balance that will be their foundation in making their dream a reality."

Blending traditional and contemporary aspects of life can be challenging. Stephanie Redman intends to take this challenge one step further. Her goal is to incorporate an understanding of traditional medicine into her future career as a medical doctor. At 21 years of age, Stephanie is preparing carefully for her role. As a high-school student at the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, she maintained an honour-roll standing. Now she is in her final year of pre-medicine and is studying Aboriginal health and biology at the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College in Regina. Stephanie believes that this is the training she needs to provide culturally appropriate health care as a physician in First Nations communities.

As a co-ordinator for the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College summer math/science camp in 1994 and 1996, Stephanie has been a role model for high-school students interested in careers in science and health. She is the first Aboriginal student to be involved in chemistry research at the University of Regina. Leadership comes naturally to Stephanie -- she has combined volunteer activities in her community with excellence in school, traditional dance, and sports. Upon graduation from high school, Stephanie was honoured with the President's Cup for Leadership.

http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/ss/pubs/wnm/wnm-eng.asp

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Janet Smylie, B.A., M.D. Métis, Ontario Family Physician, Community Health Consultant

"I think that you can do anything that you set your mind to. We all have a gift and our role in life is to try and figure out what that is and to develop that. And everybody has something worthwhile to say, no matter what people tell them."

As an Aboriginal physician, Dr. Janet Smylie knows the importance of nurturing ambitions and desires in young children so that one day their dreams may become a reality. Janet herself came from a highly supportive family environment. With a physicist as a father, the academic world held no fear for her. Janet has turned her own interests in the sciences into a Bachelor of Arts in sociology, followed by a degree in medicine and a certificate in family practice.

At age 27, Janet has practised as a physician in both urban and northern areas. She has worked with the Anishnawbe Health Clinic in Toronto and is on an Aboriginal health clinic planning committee in Ottawa. She is a member of the Native Physicians' Association in Canada and the Committee on Aboriginal Women's Health Issues of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada. She is also interested in women's issues. In Toronto she was involved with the Women's Health Centre, the Bay Centre Birth Control Clinic, and a gender issues medical committee at the University of Toronto.

There are now 67 Aboriginal physicians in Canada and a further 33 Aboriginal students in medical schools. Janet finds encouragement in the fact that persons from all sorts of backgrounds are now in the medical profession and that support exists for those who are interested.

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

Stacey Porter, B.A. Shuswap, Bonaparte Indian Band, British Columbia Accountant

"It is important for me that I chose a career in which there is a demand for the skills I have acquired....I believe that anyone who devotes themselves to obtaining a good education opens up so many options to themselves. Even if they are unsure which avenue they wish to pursue, by having a good foundation, they can have many choices to choose from."

In planning her career path after high school, Stacey Porter looked closely at opportunities and skills that would be needed in the future. She was interested in accounting and finance -- areas that her father has been involved in for some years. Stacey followed her interests while taking a Bachelor of Administration degree and, in the process, chose her profession. Accountants are in high demand in First Nations communities and the Canadian marketplace.

Now 24 years old, Stacey has always been highly motivated to be successful. She attributes her strong work ethic to the examples set by her parents and grandparents. During her university education, Stacey worked for the Bonaparte Indian Band in Cache Creek, British Columbia, in a variety of areas, including administration and at the Band's historic Hat Creek Ranch. Stacey's first employment after obtaining her degree was as project manager for her community. Then she accepted a position with Price Waterhouse in Kamloops, British Columbia, which subsequently merged with KPMG in January 1997. At KPMG she has the opportunity to meet her next goal -- to become a chartered accountant. Stacey continues to be involved with First Nations communities through the firm's Aboriginal Services Division.

Articles & Reports:

http://www.nwac.ca/sites/default/files/reports/NWACEconomicOpportunitiesBackground.pdf - Report from the natives women association of canada

http://necvancouver.org/?gclid=CJr2lrLOs6gCFQ10gwod02mODQ - Promise and Prosperity: The

Aboriginal Business Survey

http://womeninbusiness.about.com/od/statisticsonminoritywobs/a/statnativewobmo.htm - Statistics on American Indian and Alaska Native Women-Owned Businesses

http://www.turtleisland.org/discussion/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=7477 – Ontario’s women association

http://www.thunderbaybusiness.ca/article/ontario-native-women%E2%80%99s-association--135.asp - Ontario Native Women's Association Provides Aboriginal Women Hope

http://www.ehow.com/list_6900551_business-grants-native-american-women.html - business grants for American native women

Profiles of Aboriginal Women in Business

Compiled by Jay Silverberg

http://ric.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=5&tax_level=2&tax_subject=211&topic_id=1164 – Native American portal site to related organizations http://www.ehow.com/list_6766407_government-grants-female-native-americans.html - government grants for female native Americans

http://www.nwac.ca/research/additional-reports - Native Women’s association of Canada –reports

http://www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca/acp/apps/cs.nsf/search?openagent&searchconfiguration=funding_en.cfg#datatable – aboriginal Canada portal

http://www.nativemaps.org/node/2076 - aboriginal mapping network – feature of Spirit magazine

http://www.ailanet.org/other/index.htm - portal of american Indian journal resources

http://lone-eagles.com/na-business.htm - native american business listings and supporting organizations portal (small)

http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources/indices/NAorg.html ,

http://www.nativeculturelinks.com/businesses.html - north american native business portals

http://www.ceso-saco.com/About/Awards.aspx - For CESO’s work in Aboriginal communities, the Canadian Council on Learning, a non-profit that promotes research about education, recognized CESO’s Aboriginal Women for Tomorrow (AWFT) program

Resources:

http://www.wd.gc.ca/eng/289.asp - Resources for Aboriginal Entrepreneurs