How Fort Smith’s entrepreneurs are kickstarting their careers

Fort Smith’s Mildred Martin has seen a gap in the market. She’s growing a booking platform to help arrange medical travel in northern communities.

Former GNWT benefits officer Martin and business partner Rashmi Patel launched Wintergreen Travel in 2022. They aim to offer residents an “easier and less stressful” way to travel.

“When you’re going for medical appointments, it’s already stressful enough and you should not worry about your travel arrangements and things not working out properly,” said Martin.

“We used to hear a lot of complaints from people around town about medical travel and how bad it was.

“One of my goals is to help the clients because I used to work in that area helping clients. That’s one of my main reasons why I wanted to get involved in this.”

Martin applied for Indigenous Women Entrepreneurs funding to support the company’s operational costs and develop a booking platform similar to Expedia. She expects the platform to be ready in the next few months.

“It’s exciting. We still have to get out there and get people to sign up with us,” she said.

“For me, I want the business to promote the North because I feel like the North has so much to offer to the world. I want to be able to highlight that on our booking platform.”

Empowering residents

Denise Yuhas is a business support officer for the Indigenous Women Entrepreneurs program at Fort Smith’s Thebacha Business Development Services.

She helps participants to develop their careers through workshops and training.

As part of the program, Yuhas said women have an opportunity to access micro-loans to help fund their work. People who don’t take up the option of financial assistance can still use the program to learn valuable skills.

“A lot of it is helping them get whatever it is they need to help them to succeed with their plans,” Yuhas said.

“It is a pretty great opportunity. And of course, no education is worthless, right?”

The federal government launched the broader Indigenous Women’s Entrepreneurship program in 2022, delivering it through 32 Indigenous financial institutions. A year prior, Yuhas said a pilot workshop happened in Fort Smith.

“It’s such a good opportunity and it would be great if every Indigenous woman had access to the kinds of material and learning opportunities that we have down here,” she said.

“Being an entrepreneur is a very empowering thing for anybody that’s looking for that different way of making a living and having independence.”

‘A welcome distraction’

Krystal Brown, originally from Rankin Inlet in Nunavut, moved to the NWT in 2001. She said Fort Smith always “felt like home,” as she had spent multiple summers and Christmases in the town.

Brown began making pottery last year after attending a private studio where a small group of potters regularly meet.

She said she has seen local interest in the hobby grow – though, in her experience, it still remains “expensive” to pursue.