Gala honours entrepreneurs
Tammy Beauvais addresses attendees at the fifth annual Nikanewin Gala. Courtesy FNQLEDC, Credit Annie Hervieux
Local entrepreneur Tammy Beauvais is on a mission to make financial knowledge accessible to Onkwehón:we, a goal that was recognized at the prestigious Nikanewin Gala in Quebec City last week.
Beauvais was honoured with a Recognition Award as part of the fifth anniversary of the gala, which is hosted by the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Economic Development Commission (FNQLEDC). She was honoured in the “Innovation” category of the award, a testament to the uniqueness of her company, MatriTrust.
“It’s something I had never felt before, I was just so happy, I was very emotional,” Beauvais said.
Beauvais’ company aims to improve the financial literacy of Indigenous women, taking a trauma-informed approach to financial education.
“It’s particularly for people who live on-reserve, because the access to financial literacy and the impact of intergenerational money trauma and individual money trauma is huge on-reserve,” she said.
“There’s not enough support, there’s not enough information, and so my focus is to empower women with these tools so they can create individual wealth, family wealth, and community wealth.”
Beauvais was also recognized for her work as an entrepreneur with her clothing brand, Tammy Beauvais Designs. She said she was delighted to be able to share her work with those in attendance, and help be a part of breaking down barriers for Indigenous women who want to be entrepreneurs or improve their financial literacy.
Also announced at the gala was a new mentorship service from the FNQLEDC, developed in partnership with Réseau Mentorat. Beauvais will be serving as a mentor to others as part of the program.
“I was given something from other women, I was given support and strength and that gave me more strength and more love to support other women too,” she said.
Jinny Thibodeau Rankin, executive director of the FNQLEDC said the event was a roaring success, with more than $25,000 in bursaries handed out as part of the Nikanewin Bursaries program in partnership with Hydro Quebec. One of those bursary recipients was Paula Bauersfeld, who was given a $2,500 bursary to start up her food business in Kahnawake.
“This gala marks a pivotal moment for Indigenous women’s entrepreneurship. It shows that our nations are brimming with innovative ideas and powerful, inspiring, and committed leaders. It is an honour for the FNQLEDC to be a leading player in terms of supporting the economic and entrepreneurial growth of First Nations women,” Rankin said.
Beauvais says the award is thanks to the people that have supported her in getting to this point, including Valerye Tremblay, Penelope Roberge, her partner Michael Yellowhair, and Suzie Delaronde. She encourages all local entrepreneurs to build up their own support system to succeed, and consider utilizing the services offered by the FNQLEDC, which she has relied on heavily in developing MatriTrust.
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“We asked for support and they helped us. They literally met with us week after week and answered all of our questions, helped us with everything,” Beauvais said. “It’s been amazing.”
