“I've always been passionate about storytelling,” explains Anonda Canadien. She is from Deh Gáh Got’îê First Nation in Fort Providence, Northwest Territories but she’s currently living in North Vancouver as she pursues her post secondary education. She is pursuing that passion for storytelling and turning it into a career.

Looking back on her educational and professional journey, Canadien attended the International Baccalaureate program for two years and graduated from Lester B Pearson College of the Pacific in Victoria. After graduation, she worked at Up Here Magazine and CKLB Radio for a couple years. She also did youth work in her community. Later, she joined the CBC New Indigenous Voices program with the National Screens Institute which introduced her to film. She went on to apply to the Indigenous Digital Filmmaking Diploma program at Capilano University and has continued on to the Bachelor of Motion Picture Arts program.

Growing up in her cultural circles, Canadien felt the stories she shares are important within the film industry’s landscape. With so many funding opportunities for Indigenous filmmakers and knowing she needed to pursue higher education and find better opportunities, she was inspired along this path. Canadien’s family inspired her, too.

Her advice for Indigenous students leaving their home community to pursue opportunities is based on her own experiences leaving her small community for the big city. “It was a big adjustment in the beginning, but now I'm so comfortable where I live. I think the biggest thing is finding community, and finding your people and learning to connect with them and putting yourself out there to build community,” she relays.

Attending the Indigenous digital filmmaking program, Canadien was fortunate to be connected immediately with a group of likeminded students with similar backgrounds. In the first couple years, she had a built-in community. Now in her third year, things have been more challenging, but she has the opportunity to connect with Indigenous students at the Indigenous centre.

When it comes to obstacles, adjusting to her new environment was a big one, but having other people to help her get around and find resources helped a lot. Finding community at school helped her get through feelings of homesickness. Racism and sexism in the film industry is another obstacle Canadien dealt with by talking to other people within the workplace to validate her experience and create change.

To balance her mental health, Canadien uses a physical and digital planner to manage her time, and ensure she has time for studies and self care. She also likes to go for walks, read, and spend time with her friends. Staying organized and managing her time have been essential to managing her mental health and academic performance.

As far as inspiration goes, Canadien looks to her family and how her parents and brother encouraged her. Her aunties, uncles, cousins and her grandma inspire her, too. Her culture and experiences growing up in the north also inspire the content of her work.

Growing up in a small town without a lot of accessibility and things to do, she wondered if she would ever leave. She kept the faith and took a leap when she applied for school and found the funding to go. While making the change was scary, she is grateful she believed in herself and made the choice to pursue her dreams.

Passionate about storytelling and eager to share important stories from her perspective, Anonda Canadien stepped into the unknown in attending Capilano University. Now close to graduation, she’s gained new skills and excitement for what lies ahead as she prepares for her future in Indigenous film. Inspired and encouraged by her family, she’s got the confidence to succeed and community behind her every step of the way.