b'FIRST NATIONSDECOLONIZING MINDSElder Laureen Blu Waters is a traditional knowledge advisor who works with businesses to advise them on topics tied to diversity. As both an Indigenous and Two-Spirit woman, Blu Waters brings a unique perspective to her work.Im involved in many different aspects with different organizations and different businesses to help decolonize their minds and to open up to different perspectives that exist, she says. To treat each other equally as a human being involves decolonizing your understanding that gender diversity does not exist.Blu Waters says businesses are seeing that they need a variety of perspectives. She reflects on her recent work with Starbucks to make their business more harmonious for staff and customers. Being able to share about gender diversity with Starbucks and being part of their Elder Laureen Blu Waters celebrations to embrace diversity really [opened] up the door for them to create more business, Blu Waters says.ODD ONE OUT That recognition, John says, stemmed from his efforts to Jarret Leaman, co-founder of Akawe Technologies and thesupport a group of LGBTQ+ students to organize the first rural Centre for Indigenous Innovation and Technology, identifies asGay-Straight Alliance Summit in Alberta to discuss gay-straight a Two-Spirit Magnetawan citizen. He says that as a young, queeralliances and diversity in 2018. I helped start a Gay-Straight Indigenous man he was often the odd one out and found it hardAlliance at my school where I grew up in Strathmore, he says. to gain legitimacy in the business community in the early half ofWe had (about) 26 different schools from across rural Alberta his career.travel up to 10 hours to get to Strathmore to connect withI was in positions where I was speaking to boards [and] each other.I was the only one that was that age and I was the only one While these were all positive developments that reflected that was Two-Spirit and I was the only one that was Native, openness and acceptance, things were not always so rosy. Like Leaman says. other Two-Spirit Indigenous youth, John says that he too had It helped that he had a thick skin. Leaman had learned to dealexperienced the double-hit of homophobia and racism earlier in with criticism while competing as a gymnast in university andhis career. Experiencing that was pretty destructive to ones self working in theatre as a young man. He realized that hard workconfidence, he admits.gained you respect and helped people look beyond their ownHowever on an endnote John stresses that the business scene preconceptions.in Alberta has certainly evolved to a better place when it comes to The harder you work and the more that you produce results,diversity and equity, pointing to his own success in the provinces the harder it is for people to question your abilities. So for me,energy sector as an example. Calgary has grown up considerably its always been about working very hard, very diligently and verysince then, he says, which is now allowing me to work in this ethically, Leaman says. industry again authentically.CHANGING POINTGregory John, a Mtis, is the leading executive officer and EVP of business development at Unimaize Technologies Inc. and president of Four Peaks Business Development, a company that creates opportunities for Indigenous people in the energy sector.An openly gay man, John has actively supported LGBTQ+ initiatives in his home province of Alberta. He points ro his receiving the 2018 Calgary Stampede Western Trailblazer Award for his efforts to support Gay-Straight Alliances in rural Alberta as a pivotable changing point in both his career andpersonal life.That kind of recognition started building a reputation around the work I do, and I was headhunted for several positions that had me transition back into the energy sector, John says. I was able to highlight Indigenous ingenuity, leadership and industry participation in energy through my connections within the community.Issue 2 2021 | QBiz CANADA |25'