“I had struggles along the way. But I didn't give up,” Maria McSwain recalls. She is from Fort McPherson where she manages the tent and canvas shop. She went to high school and got her high school diploma in Inuvik. As a single mom in 1998, McSwain decided to go back to school in Yellowknife, and she was accepted into and completed the Northern Access Nursing Program.

After entering the nursing program, she found the first month too intense and that she wasn’t ready. She stayed in Yellowknife and worked for the Dene Nation as environmental coordinator and later the health coordinator and the regional health survey coordinator. She also had the chance to work for the government and learn from elders. She decided she wanted to start her own business, and took the business admin program at Aurora College.

Business was something that appealed to her because McSwain loves talking to and meeting new people, ever since she worked as a cashier at the co-op as a teen. She loved helping customers and balancing the cash register. Putting those skills to work managing the tent and canvas shop has been a joy, and she loves connecting with tourists in the summer and having so many happy customers.

When she first started, there was nobody to train her, so she had to learn as she went and put what she learned in other roles to work. Something she loves about the shop is they don’t just sell tents, they also manufacture them and she has the joy of selling tipis to people who send her joyful letters when they receive them. Their seamstress who has been there for decades is training younger staff and sharing her knowledge.

Her advice for Indigenous students leaving their home communities would be “Continue with your education….There’s a whole world out there to see…. Just work hard…. Your home community won’t run away, it will always be there…. Today, you can’t get a really good job without a degree anymore.” Moving from Fort McPherson to Yellowknife in the late nineties was scary for McSwain, but her family was so proud of her. Her own daughter is now pursuing the Indigenous teaching program at UBC.

McSwain would further encourage Indigenous youth to stay in school and find the supports that are available. She loves to share about the importance of education and says that even if you have to work for a year to save up for schooling, it’s important to get back to school. “Follow your dream and do what makes you happy. At the end of the day, you need to be happy with who you are in order to succeed,” she shares.

When it comes to obstacles, McSwain struggled moving away from her home community and with being a single mother and having to put her daughter in daycare so she could pursue her education. One of the lessons she learned was “you need to find that passion in your career, no matter what it is.” She also learned, “you're never too old to go back to school, regardless of what age you are.”

Struggling to balance her education with parenting, McSwain put her schooling on hold for a while and asked for a job at Dene nation. It was a hard choice to wrestle with but her determination was rewarded and she was hired. She doesn’t regret making that decision, believing everything happens for a reason and that she could go back and finish her nursing degree if she wanted to.

If McSwain could tell her younger self anything it would be, “Through all the struggles, through everything that you've been through in your life… you never gave up, you're still going. You're still strong. You're still showing the passion that you love.” Looking back McSwain wouldn’t do things any other way and she’s full of gratitude and focused on the future.

One certificate she obtained over the years that she’s particularly proud of is the community health representative certification. She loves helping her community and the nurses, educating young people and the community at large.

To balance her mental health, McSwain goes camping on the land, goes walking, takes her puppy for walks, spends time in the mountains, picks berries, spends time on the land and lets it heal her. She enjoys fishing and learning other traditional practices.

When it comes to inspiration, McSwain looks to her parents, grandparents and great great grandparents. She’s in awe of their work ethic and hopes they are proud of her. Inspired by the way they raised her, and by the love she feels coming in to work every day, she knows she has found a safe place. Her grandmother worked where she works now and that brings her joy. She recalls how she encouraged her to pursue her education and to work hard. She also believes in encouraging people generally, even outside of education, providing encouragement not to give up and to have hope, faith and love.

In closing, McSwain shares, “Just try your best every day. When you wake up, be grateful, be thankful that Creator has given you another day to live, and whether you're making a difference in your own life or in someone else's life, continue to do the best you can with what you can…strive for success…just keep going, and follow your dreams. At the end of the day, it's all up to you what choices you want to make…you're gonna have struggles along the way, but don't give up. Education is really important.”

Helping people is what she loves to do and Maria McSwain found ways to do that when nursing turned out not to be her best fit. Managing the tent and canvas shop where her grandmother once worked, she finds joy in making customers happy and seeing a new generation of seamstresses learn at work. Prioritizing her family, she found a way that worked for her and a life that makes her happy.

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.