b'Ojibwe Spirit Horses at Mdahk Farm. Photo by Sharkey Photography.Indigenous Tagwagi Festival at Mdahk Farm. Photo by Sharkey Photography.SUPPORTING Mdahk Farm. Photo by Ashley Fraser. INDIGENOUS seasonal festivals therewere cele- COMMUNITIESbrating the change of seasons with a lot of programming and food and experi-ences. We have a marketplace that is open seven days a week, and we have over 45 Indigenous vendors represented there.For more than 20 years, Graham has proudly People can visit the farm, see our rareworked alongside Indigenous communities and endangered Ojibwe spirit horses [or]developing meaningful relationships that share our values of commitment for economic and walk our legacy trail. community development, as well as contributing During the pandemic, Indigenousto education and training programs with Experiences successfully transitionedIndigenous groups across Canada. their biggest eventthe Indigenous Solstice Summer Festival, which had about 50,000 visitors in 2019to a virtual format. We were super successful in creating those virtual experiences [and] building that massive new audi-ence, Mather-Simard explains. We would never have dreamt of 2.7 million people participating.Mather-Simard says they lost most of their tourism programming during the pandemic, so the Mdahk Farm is their opportunity to regrow that business with local programming that is primarily outdoors. Our visitors feel safe joining us there, so the farm is kind of our road to recovery from COVID-19, she says.When it comes to advice, Mather-Simard says business people need to be resilient. We really had to look at what we were offering and find new ways to deliver it, she says.I ssue1 2022C hIefs ofo ntarIoA dvocAte magazIne l 39'