Indigenous Entrepreneur Conference

Warrior Women

Warrior Women is headed up by visionary Matricia Bauer. Her traditional name is: Isko-achitaw waciy / ᐃᐢᑯ ᐃᐦᒋᑕ ᐘᒋᕀ, She Who Moves Mountains; A name received from Elder, Frieda Maynard. She hails originally for Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation. Warrior Women operates from Jasper Alberta, but Matricia has travelled all over the world as an ambassador of Indigenous Tourism, recently in New York as a TED talk speaker! Before that she was in Germany and London with Destination Canada, Travel Alberta, Tourism of Canada and Tourism of Alberta promoting authentic Indigenous experiences, Province of Alberta, and Canada! Matricia herself is a keynote speaker, drummer, singer, artist and a certified guide leading plant walks in the Rocky Mountains. She also appears on APTN as a Bears’ Lair winner, and a host for the show “Back to Roots” Season 2. Matricia recently launched another company called Wisakipakos-indigenousbitters.ca. (Don’t be bitter; be better!) She is working towards completing her Tea Sommolier. Matricia is happiest harvesting her traditional medicines in the bush and making them into medical concoctions. Her passion is to introduce all the beautiful parts of her culture to the world. Her tag line is to “Indigenize the world, one drum beat at a time”

Lauren Moberly

Lauren Moberly is the founder of Fallen Mountain Soap, an Indigenous-owned artisan soap company rooted in traditional knowledge, ancestral resilience, and a deep connection to the Rocky Mountains. A proud member of the Aseniwuche Winewak and Mountain Métis communities, Lauren comes from a long line of trailblazers, guides, and knowledge keepers whose history runs through the heart of Jasper. Her great-great-grandfather, Ewan Moberly, was a respected entrepreneur and guide who established a homestead and store within what is now Jasper National Park, land that was home to her family for generations until they were forcibly displaced in the early 1900s. Despite this, the Moberly family’s legacy endures in the names that dot the landscape such as, Moberly Homestead, Moberly Bridge, Adolphus Lake, and Miette Hot Springs each tied to her ancestors. Fallen Mountain Soap was born from Lauren’s desire to reclaim a lost skill and honor her heritage. Inspired by the story of how her ancestors made soap from tallow and ash, she began handcrafting small-batch soaps using locally sourced and foraged ingredients in 2019. Today, her creations blend culture, nature, and story, offering more than skincare, they’re a reconnection to the land and the people who first called it home

Douglas Hawke

Douglas Hawke is the visionary distiller and technical mind behind Hawke Prohibition Distilleries, along with his partner, Alana, making this a proudly Indigenous and female-owned Canadian distillery known for its unapologetically bold spirits and cutting-edge innovation. As co-founder and owner, Hawke is the head of production, and brings precision, creativity, and deep respect for tradition to every drop crafted in-house. A skilled fabricator and lifelong builder, Hawke didn’t just dream up the distillery — he literally built it. He designed and constructed a one-of-a-kind continuous distillation system, engineered entirely in-house, that allows Hawke Prohibition to produce exceptionally smooth spirits with high efficiency and minimal waste — a rare feat in the small-batch world. Hawke is a proud member of the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation and deeply committed to honouring his heritage through the work he does — from sourcing local ingredients to mentoring the next generation of distillers and makers. His work blends old-world technique with modern ingenuity, making Hawke Prohibition Distilleries not just a brand, but a bold statement in Canadian craft spirits. When he’s not in the distillery, you’ll find Hawke in the workshop, tinkering, tuning, or teaching — always hands-on, always forward-thinking.

Join Holly Sorgen, Executive Director of Community Futures (CF) Grande Prairie & Region with CF and Innovate Northwest clients Tracy Persson founder of My Breast Day and Darren Gervais, JDS Canada. Tracy and Darren have been participants in several CF and RIN programs and will speak to their experience navigating the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem in the province. Hear about their unique journeys and how they have overcome challenges and optimized opportunities in taking their innovations to market while learning more about how CF and innovate Northwest can assist you.