One Feather Two Pens: Episode 7 - Protecting and Promoting Culture through Technology

In Episode 7 we speak to Melissa Giles-Hardy, owner, President, and CEO of ORIGIN - a company that design, develops, and delivers technology experiences to drive employment while also protecting and promoting culture for Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island.

It's no surprise that Melissa is recipient of multiple awards, including the 2021 RBC Innovative Company of the Year award, the Indigenomics Top 10 Business's To Watch in Canada, the 2019 Northern Ontario, Influential Women's Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the Confederation College President's Award in 2019 - as well as a nominee for the 2019 Ontario Premier Award.

As you can see, Melissa is not only a passionate innovator. She is also a passionate community member who is motivated to use technology, specifically Virtual Reality, to do many amazing things: to provide Indigenous youth in remote communities opportunities to learn about new jobs, to train Indigenous peoples to do new jobs or upskill in certain areas, and to also record, preserve, and create interactive VR-based media content that protects and promotes Indigenous cultural practices, learnings, and lessons. For example, using a VR headset to interact with Elders providing the viewer a language lesson. 

This is one of our favourite episodes. It is full of incredibly powerful insights and advice. We're honoured to have Melissa on the show.

Gila’kasla!

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A very special thanks to Compulsion Soundlabs for sharing their musical talent, which you are hearing as the intro and outro music in this series!

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Tommy and Al respectfully acknowledge that this show is recorded and produced on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chonnonton, and Lūnaapéewak peoples. London, Ontario, Canada is situated on their lands, a beautiful place that Tommy and Al are privileged to call home. Through this series, Tommy and Al aim to share their platform to create progressive, safe, and inclusive space to share the wisdoms, lessons, and experiences of Indigenous peoples from sea, to sea, to sea - in hopes of finding meaningful avenues to co-exist and function together online, in the spirit of love, courage, kindness, and reconciliation.