Alice

When Alice graduated in 1988 from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, she was among the first wave of Aboriginal Canadians to get a degree. For Alice, who grew up in a family atmosphere of violence, it was no coincidence she chose social work as her specialty. When her husband abandoned her with three small girls to raise, she was juggling single parenthood and a full-time job as a treatment manager at an abuse centre. Overwhelmed with a stressful job and the demands of caring for her children, Alice gave up her job with the dream of starting her own business.

She enrolled in the Gateway Program at the PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise, a women’s support group, funded by the Canadian Women’s Foundation, which at the time was organizing the Thundering Women’s Festival.   

“It was an amazing powerhouse of women in the arts,” she says. “ I had done some stone carving and hand drumming, and I got to be a part of the festival with a chance to show my work. I was so impressed and inspired by how they brought women together.”

Alice has found PARO, which is a Latin word meaning ‘I am ready,’ to be the host organization to which she can always return. “It’s part of my family circle,” she says. She next signed up for the Business Accelerator Program which gives women the tools to grow their businesses.

“We did a sustainability model where you do an assessment of your strengths and weaknesses and then set goals,” she explains. “That was significant for me because I didn’t have the confidence of the Aboriginal community.” The Accelerator program gave her the confidence to take a year off and develop Beedaubin (meaning Rising of the Sun) Arts Collaborative for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal youth and elders. As artistic director, “I find the funds, get grants and hook the arts as a tool to bring people together.”

While Alice now has a Master’s degree in social work, PARO gave her the opportunity to also follow her passion for the arts. “They helped me be a risk-taker. When I consider my CVs, I have two distinct ones—professional and artistic.

What are her goals for the future? At 45, there are no limits for Alice. She’d like to get her doctorate in social work, the arts or community development.

“I feel I am only at the cusp of what I can do” she says.

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