Mentorship, advocacy take centre stage at Indigenous women’s networking event

PEIThe Aboriginal Women’s Association of P.E.I. brought Indigenous women and girls together at UPEI on Thursday to share teachings and to inspire. ‘I hope that one day they develop a voice just as strong as I am’Delaney Kelly · CBC News · Posted: Nov 14, 2025 10:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Alyssa-Jo Bernard, MMIWG file and proposal writer with the Aboriginal Women’s Association of P.E.I. At a Network Gathering Event (Jane Robertson/CBC)The Aboriginal Women’s Association of P.E.I. brought Indigenous women and girls together at UPEI on Thursday to share teachings and to inspire. The event, called Find your Indigenous Path, was an opportunity to discuss the work they’re doing and share what’s helped them along their journey. Alyssa-Jo Bernard, a 26-year-old Mi’kmaw woman from Lennox Island First Nation, talked about her work that’s centred around missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG). “I just hope to reach a whole other level of awareness,” she said. “In 2018, I had a sister who was tragically murdered by her fiance. So that is where my advocacy and my awareness for MMIWG truly started.” Alyssa-Jo Bernard says she hopes the younger women attending the Indigenous Pathways event leave inspired. (Jane Robertson/CBC)Bernard now travels around Canada to talk about MMIWG and the domestic violence Indigenous women face. “I do the best that I can to raise awareness and to share my advocacy journey with everybody because you never know who’s going to be hearing it… who may need just that little bit more of encouragement to leave or to help or to stand up.”Over the years, Bernard said she has had several Indigenous mentors. She hopes the young women who attended Thursday’s event take something away from it. “I hope that one day they develop a voice just as strong as I am, and they stand and advocate for the same things that I do,” she said.Several students from Lennox Island First Nation attended the event. Adriannah Bernard, a Grade 12 student at Westisle Composite High School, said she was there to show her support for the other women, and to learn from them. “I’m hoping to gain more support for women and… help out with women’s mental health,” she said. Adriannah Bernard, a high school student from Lennox Island First Nation, says she wants to help spread Indigenous culture through tourism. (Jane Robertson/CBC)Next year she’ll be heading to Halifax to study Mi’kmaw tourism. “I chose this path because I wanted to travel the world and show people about my culture and what we’ve been through,” she said. “Some people don’t really know Indigenous culture and traditions.” ‘Amazing female leaders’Jamie Thomas, the director of culture and tourism for Lennox Island Fist Nation, said the leaders and mentors she had growing up were mostly men — so it means a lot to her to be in a room of Indigenous women talking about female role models and mentorship. “It was very male-dominated, and now today we have so many amazing female leaders. It’s completely different than when I was younger,” Thomas said. “I’m just really proud to be part of that.” Jamie Thomas, director of culture and tourism with Lennox Island First Nation, says Indigenous women face many challenges, so it’s important for them to support each other. (Jane Robertson/CBC)She said Indigenous women are powerful, but they also face systemic barriers and racism. That’s why it’s important for them to support each other. “A lot of the girls who are here today were just in the elementary school when I started. And now here they are as young women who are looking at developing their own paths when it comes to post-secondary education, their careers,” Thomas said. “Having them here and having them surrounded by this much support is probably one of the most powerful things that today can achieve.”ABOUT THE AUTHORDelaney Kelly is a journalist with CBC P.E.I. who studied journalism at Concordia University. She was previously a reporter at Iori:wase in Kahnawake Mohawk Territory.