Indigenous women have a really important role in the communities. It is a care-giving role, but it's more than that. When we do become successful, we are seen as role models in the community, and that inspires other people to want to achieve that success in business as well, and they do become leaders in their communities.
I think that's really important, not only to the indigenous community but also to Canada, because, if we have more indigenous people who are successful and prospering, that makes an impact nationwide.
There have been some really cool examples that I've seen in speaking with indigenous women. Even locally, in the region where I am, in northern Ontario, I just learned this weekend that Kathryn Corbiere is a welder on Manitoulin Island. It's a very male-dominated trade. She designed and created the new trophy cup for the National Lacrosse League. The National Lacrosse League is located in Pennsylvania. She was there over the weekend to deliver the cup, and she was there when the cup was presented on the national lacrosse field. She's combining creativity with the skills she has as a welder. She's really bringing that across Canada, and now she's also going into the U.S.
There's another woman who is also on Manitoulin Island. Her name is Ann Beam, and she comes from a family of artists. She now makes non-toxic watercolour paints, and it's in plastic-free packaging, so it's sustainable. Hers was the first indigenous product in Indigo. She's now shipping across the world.
She's overcome a lot of financial adversity and adversity in relationships. I've spoken with her, and she went into a lot of detail about some of the adversity that she's overcome, so I'm really proud to share some of the experiences that she shared with me. She's really successful. She's still a small business in the eyes of the government's assessment of business sizes, but she's making a really big difference in her community and showing people that you can have paints that are non-toxic and sustainable.