Next week, the Indigenous Tech Circle (ITC) is hosting its first Indigenous Tech Conference.
Set to take place on Jan. 20 and Jan. 21 at the Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel, ITC expects the inaugural event to bring together more than 250 Indigenous founders, tech professionals, investors, community partners, allies, and policymakers, which it says would make the conference Canada’s largest gathering dedicated to Indigenous folks in tech.
“It’s important for Indigenous folks to be better connected to the broader [Canadian tech] ecosystem … and that starts with breaking down silos.”
ITC founder and CEO Ryan St. Germaine sat down for an interview with BetaKit last week to unpack how the Indigenous Tech Conference came to be and what he hopes it will accomplish.
“We just realized that it was time,” St. Germaine said. “It’s important for me, and I feel like it’s important for Indigenous folks, to be better connected to the broader [Canadian tech] ecosystem and have equal access to opportunities—and that starts with breaking down silos.”
St. Germaine, who is a Métis serial tech entrepreneur, said that after selling his job board network in 2020, he began asking where the other Indigenous folks working in Canadian tech were. “[Some] people would say there weren’t any, and I didn’t buy that,” he said.
That question—and the responses it garnered—led to the formation of ITC, a national, Indigenous-led not-for-profit that aims to advance Indigenous leadership, innovation, and investment in tech.
ITC began in 2021 as a small gathering of Indigenous tech professionals and allies, but has since grown into a large, national network of hundreds that hosts workshops, virtual meetups, and other programs. The organization brought 180 members to Web Summit Vancouver last year.
St. Germaine said he has learned that there are “a lot” of great technologists, founders, and folks, “who just happen to be Indigenous,” working at big tech companies while also supporting their nations.
“That is the foundation from which we’re working,” he added.
All images courtesy Indigenous Tech Circle
At the Indigenous Tech Conference next week, ITC hopes to highlight the work already being done by Indigenous innovators in Canadian tech and spur greater collaboration and knowledge-sharing across the ecosystem. ITC intends to make the event into its annual, flagship gathering.
The inaugural event will focus on examining how Indigenous folks are carving their own pathways in tech, how Indigenous-owned tech companies are being built, financed, and scaled, and how new technologies can increase economic sovereignty and create practical benefits within Indigenous communities.
Next week’s conference will feature panels on data sovereignty and AI, workshops on effective public relations and investment readiness, founder showcases, and a reveal of the finalists for the Indigenous Venture Challenge, a separate, $50,000 initiative designed to connect Indigenous tech startups to investors.
Virtual Gurus founder Bobbie Racette, RaceRocks founder and president Anita Pawluk, R8dius sales leader Shauna McAllister, and Animikii founder and CEO Jeff Ward are some of the speakers who will share their learnings with attendees.
Part of the focus, St. Germaine said, will be on connecting current Indigenous tech leaders with the next generation, so they “can see what’s possible [and] see themselves in these spaces.”
“I feel very strongly that these are times to pay attention, because there are opportunities to do amazing work and to build amazing value for Indigenous peoples that creates generational wealth,” St. Germaine said. “But also, more broadly speaking, it’s a time to innovate and make changes in the world that are desperately needed.”
St. Germaine cited AI and associated data centre infrastructure, some of which may be built on Indigenous lands, as one area with a lot of risk and opportunity for Indigenous communities. Given the rapid pace of AI development and adoption, he noted that there is also a pressing need to ensure that Indigenous folks are not pushed farther into the margins.
“There’s been great strides made, and I’d hate to see Indigenous folks fall behind within technology,” St. Germaine said.
Feature image courtesy Indigenous Tech Circle.