Feature image courtesy of www.inkdigenoustattoostudio.com

As National Indigenous History Month is coming to a close, members of the George Brown College (GBC) community are starting to pay more attention to Indigenous representation on campus. In order to commemorate the month, we’re highlighting five Indigenous GBC alum to share their artwork and businesses with the overarching student body. 

Sage Paul 

Sage Paul is an urban Denesuliné tskwe identifying as part of the English River First Nation. In 2006, she graduated from the Fashion Design and Techniques program. Paul participated as a costume designer in four festivals and films, while she was a student at GBC, including “Star Trek Campaign,” which was presented in the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in 2005. 

After participating in more festivals as a costume designer, Paul won more than 15 awards for her artwork. Some of these included being announced as the Top 100 talented and driven Canadian women by Flare Magazine (2017), and the “Toronto cool girl” by Vogue (2018). Moreover, Paul was also given recognition by the Ontario Minister of the Status of Women as a trailblazing woman transforming the province. 

Nowadays, she is known for her sophisticated design, which outlines the messages of family, sovereignty, and resilience. However, outside of her work, Paul continues to teach Contemporary Indigenous Fashion at GBC, which is an elective course for students in the School of Fashion. Meanwhile, she has also founded Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto (IFWT), and now serves as the executive and artistic director. 

Louise Solomon

Solomon is an Ojibwe artist who originates from the Cape Croker First Nations reserve. While she was born and raised in downtown Toronto, she always felt inspired by her Indigenous roots and her family. 

As a young child, Solomon traveled back to Cape Croker every summer for camping trips and spent time sculpting, painting, and making jewellery with her grandmother. This led her to pursue a studio art degree specializing in sculpture and extended media at the University of Guelph, followed by a jewellery methods certificate at GBC. 

Two years after her graduation, Solomon launched her jewellery brand, Hands of Solomon. Her collections combine artistic elements from Indigenous culture, mainly reflected in the materials and symbols used. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her store is temporarily closed. 

A year after she launched her business, Solomon found herself winning two awards from two different organizations. The first award was the Eveleen Dollery Award from the Toronto Fashion Incubator, which recognizes fashion entrepreneurship. The second award was given by the Toronto Aboriginal Business Association (TABA), and Solomon was rewarded with the “Youth Entrepreneur” title. 

Other than fashion, Solomon continues to be an advocate for her community. She has worked in outreach before for the University of Guelph, mainly focused on Indigenous students, and was previously a business developer for the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC). 

Dawn Tabobondung 

Tabobondung graduated from the Office Management and Administration program in GBC and is a member of the Wasauksing First Nation. 

After her graduation, Tabobondung worked in management positions in Indigenous-owned organizations. Some of these include a finance administrator at the Waabnoog Bemjiwang Association of First Nations and a restorative justice assistant at the Wassauksing First Nation. More recently, she was an Indigenous advisory committee member at the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC). 

Having a passion to help others, Tabobondung started First Nation Growers, a company that targets first nations communities, and tries to lessen the barriers for Indigenous populations to access nutritional and fresh produce by utilizing an environmentally friendly planting system. 

The business also sells a variety of products, including essential oils, hemp products, and organic products. Moreover, First Nation Growers also provide an Opiate Eradication Natural Therapy program, which utilizes natural medicine and wellness products to treat chronic and infectious diseases. 

Other than food security, Tabobondung hopes to provide opportunities for Indigenous individuals living in Canada, through economic and employment development within the company and throughout the community. 

David Wolfman 

Chef David Wolfman is a member of the Xaxli’p First Nation in British Columbia. While studying a three-year apprenticeship program in culinary arts at GBC, he worked in various restaurants to complete his placements. After graduation, he worked for catering and other food service companies as a head chef. 

Nowadays, his career encompasses a variety of aspects outside of the kitchen. He offers services that include commercial kitchen construction, restaurant makeovers, menu design, catering coordination, and speaker engagements for different clientele ranging from Indigenous to governmental organizations. Meanwhile, for children and teachers, Chef Wolfman offers a variety of cooking instruction classes and workshops, both virtual and in-person. 

Chef Wolfman’s culinary career skyrocketed when he became the executive producer and host of his own television program: Cooking with the Wolfman. The program also includes his own show, Indigenous Fusion: Traditional Foods with a Modern Twist, which aired on the Canadian channel Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) for 18 years. 

Moreover, chef Wolfman even authored a cookbook, Cooking with Wolfman, which includes over 100 recipes as well as his signature Indigenous-culture inspired dish. The book received four awards, including the Best in Canada (English) award by the Gourmand World Cookbook in 2017. 

Other than crafting recipes and preparing meals, chef Wolfman continues to inspire students within the hallways of GBC. He is presently a professor at the Chef School, creating Canada’s first college-level Aboriginal Cuisine program and revamping the Cultural Influences in Food course for the Food and Beverage management program. 

Chef Wolfman’s efforts have led him to receive plenty of awards, including seven Gold Awards in the Culinary Olympics, and an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. 

Anthony Hooper (Toby Sicks)

Toby Sicks is a Metis originating in Red River, from Hearst, Ontario. He previously attended GBC for the Community Worker program, where he won multiple awards from the Student Association at George Brown College (SAGBC) and the Alfred Eli bursary. As a prominent activist towards Indigenous issues, Sicks continues to contribute to his community greatly. 

However, being an Indigenous person in Canada was not easy for Sicks and his family as well. Due to the persecution and discrimination, Sicks’s relatives never told him that he was Indigenous. 

“My great-grandmother on my mother’s side never told us we were Native,” said Sicks. “We were hiding it [our Indigenous identity] because we knew we were going to be treated differently from society.” 

But when Sicks’ was told that he was Indigenous, he embraced his culture in full force. One time, he participated in the North American Indigenous Games by training over 3,000 people on cultural sensitivity. 

Now, Sicks has opened a tattoo studio in downtown Toronto, named Inkdigenous Tattoo Studio. His mission is to preserve Indigenous culture, arts, and tradition, which were almost washed out due to the oppression and persecution Indigenous people have faced. 

“So when I went to GBC for Community Work, I learned about activism,” said Sicks. “So through all the activism and oppression, and through the oppressive framework, I created a business plan based on preserving language, arts, and culture.” 

Sicks’ interest in art began in his childhood, since he always loved to draw and scrapbook. However, his uncle introduced him to tattoo art. 

“My uncle, believe it or not, came out of the penitentiary and came to live with my grandparents when they raised me,” said Sicks. “When he got released, I asked him where he got the tattoo.”

From that point on, tattooing became Sicks’ hobby, eventually turning into a career. He learned how to build his own tattoo machine from his uncle and mastered his own style. 

“I embrace my style, and if you were to look at my best pieces, they are dark,” said Sicks. “I got a nice dark shade, but I also like realism and when I’m combining all of those three together, I get to envision something going on and make something beautiful.” 

When meeting new clients, Sicks continues to learn about different Indigenous cultures and traditions, as each tribe, or group is diverse with a multitude of practices. 

“We have to have an understanding of what certain evaluations are, and what certain circumstances in the community would allow you to have a ceremonial tattoo,” said Sicks. “So let’s say you have a clan or spirit name, you need to have a basic understanding to decipher the certain cultural activities or ceremonies. You have to really watch what you’re getting into because some cultures, such as Cree, don’t have clans.” 

As Sicks continues to embrace his style and culture, he also would like to share a message with other Indigenous artists and students: 

“Never ever give up and never ever take no for an answer. If someone says ‘no we don’t need you on this project,’ you are going to get back up and say ‘Fine, I don’t need this guy, and a response from him, so I’m going to make something better and make a proposal to do this other project somewhere else. And I’m going to show them that they did need me on that part.’”