A Weekend of Confidence, Culture, and Courage

Sqéwqel Development Corporation (SqDC) hosted its fourth annual Stó:lō Youth Entrepreneurship Initiative (YEI) from July 18 – 21. The goal of the YEI is to empower our youth with the tools, confidence, and knowledge to start their own business and to dream big.

This year, though, levelled up. We collaborated with Geena Jackson, a shíshálh (Sechelt) First Nation member and the mastermind behind Bears’ Lair TV, and brought the very first Bears’ Lair Dream Camp to Seabird Island.

The Bears’ Lair Dream Camp is an immersive, three-day entrepreneurship workshop for Indigenous youth aged 11–18. Launched in 2022 as an extension of the Bears’ Lair TV platform, this camp guides youth through launching a business, everything from ideation and branding to marketing, financial literacy, and pitch development, while also focusing on Indigenous values and cultural grounding.

Our youth came up with innovative, practical, and community-focused business ideas. Their pitches included a coffee shop, a community centre, a tiny home business, an arts & crafts venture, and a sporting goods store. Each idea showed clear thinking, creativity, and a strong connection to what matters in their lives and communities.

Seeing the change in the youth in just three days was impressive. By Monday evening, every participant had gained noticeable confidence. At the graduation ceremony, they stood before family, friends, and judges to introduce their teams and present their business pitch videos. The judges then had the difficult task of choosing a winner.

A huge shoutout to our panel of judges, who also happened to be sponsors of this year’s YEI:

Mat Point – Owner of Shi:ya Construction and member of Seabird Island
Rocio Zielinskie – Stó:lō Community Futures
Jordan Forseth – Baker Newby
Michelle Green – TD Bank
Mark DePedrina – Fort Modular

Every participant walked away with a $150 gift card, and the winning team each received a $350 gift card, but the biggest reward was the growth, connection, and inspiration over the three days.

“Looking back on the Bears’ Lair Dream Camp, one thing is clear: our youth are future leaders. Investing in them means investing in the future of Seabird Island. Sqéwqel Development Corporation is proud to support their growth and will continue to create opportunities that inspire and empower them”, says Carla Pretorius, Communications Manager at Sqéwqel Development Corporation (SqDC)

Sqéwqel Development Corporation would like to thank each of our sponsors who made this event possible for our youth: Enbridge, FortisBC, CN, Tuya Construction, Stqó:ya Construction, Baker Newby, Silverstone Excavating, Prospera, WPD, Centurion Matting Products, Schi;ya Construction, Neels Nurseries, VGN Resources Group, MNP, Willscot, Badger, TreeTech, Northern Mat & Bridge, TD Bank, Stó:lō Community Futures, Nu West Resource Services, Fort Modular and Guide Engineering.