Story shared by Annie Korver

At Rise, our work is about bridging ways of being, seeing and doing: Indigenous and corporate, visionary and practical, internal and external. We honour these intersections, knowing there is no single way to find our way across. This is the heart of Two-Eyed Seeing—holding multiple truths at once, honouring the depth of Indigenous knowledge while navigating the realities of stewarding a business.

At this time of year, as the days grow shorter and the seasons shift, I feel an invitation to slow down and reflect. For the business, this is also the close of one fiscal year and the start of another. When I look back on what we’ve accomplished, my heart begins to dance. This year, Rise received its B Corp recertification with an improved score, we received silver-level Partnership Accreditation in Indigenous Relations (PAIR) certification through the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB), and we achieved our Women Business Enterprise (WBE) certification. These recognitions affirm our place within a community of organizations and leaders who choose purpose and relationship as their heart-compass. It is energizing.

When I was preparing for our first B Corp certification three years ago, I was welcomed into the Level Program—a beautiful initiative supporting equity-deserving Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour women-identifying entrepreneurs. Recently, I had the honour of being featured in one of their videos alongside three Indigenous entrepreneurs I deeply respect—truly a gift. Michelle Reid, Manager of Indigenous Reconciliation at BDC, expressedwith wonderful clarity a message that shone through. She was reminded that “leadership is expansive. It can be gentle and fierce, joyful and serious, rooted in values and open to growth.” 

Both the PAIR and B Corp processes asked us to turn inward, to look honestly at our own practices, to consider where and how we needed to evolve. We formalized practices that had long lived in our hearts, updating policies, documenting commitments, and tracking the data we need to honour them. We stepped into circle as a team—to listen with humility and learn from Elders and knowledge keepers, to share knowledge, to nurture growth. As the Honourable Elder Dr. Chief Willie Littlechild recently shared, “if Reconciliation isn’t uncomfortable, you’re not doing it properly”.

A thread running through this whole journey was formality: taking a value or way of being and shaping it into a clear process or policy. Tracking our actions helped close the gap between who we believe we are and how we show up. Even tools that felt rigid ended up becoming openings for connection. One of B Corp’s core impact areas is People, and this year we made meaningful internal shifts, introducing a Compassionate Leave policy, committing to a carbon offset program, and refining our project-management time-tracking practices. We are currently working on a Ceremonial Leave Policy and an RRSP program. These shifts offer insight into the power of blending ways of knowing: formal structures meeting decolonized practice, each strengthening the other. Some of the learning was tender, all of it was transformative. As Elder Littlechild distinguished, the work is not only about “well-being,” but about being well.

I often think of the Métis sash, and how its strands reflect my own ancestry, braided into something strong and intentional. As we look toward another year together, I return to the question that sits at the heart of B Corp: What are we doing today for a better tomorrow? For us, the answer has always been rooted in relationship, reciprocity and responsibility. Weave enough threads together, and a different fabric emerges.