“We’re surviving intergenerational trauma. We are here and doing things, trying to make a better life for us and our kids.” says Stacey Drygeese Sundberg. She is a Yellowknives Dene First Nation member who grew up in Dettah and finished high school in Yellowknife.

After completing a year of Indigenous Studies at the University of Alberta, Sundberg realized she needed to go home to her elders and traditional knowledge keepers to learn from them. She also realized the great need for Indigenous businesses and when she started working with NWT Literacy, they had a Community Enterprise project on the go.

The enterprise they selected to set up was a cafe and catering project in Dettah and Sundberg took the project on as part of an Indigenous-owned and operated community collective whose name translates to “Tastes Good”. In her role, Sundberg hires community members to cook for different catering jobs, spreading the wealth coming in for catering projects with the community.

Thinking back to her time at the University of Alberta when she was studying Indigenous Studies, Sundberg recalled how the curriculum focussed a lot on Southern First Nations, mainly Cree people, and on treaties while leaving out or using resources that misrepresented her own people.

Reflecting on her decision to return home to learn from her elders, Sundberg says, “I had to be around Dene people, just be in the bush, have bush tea and bannock.” Coming home brought its own opportunities, like the chance to participate in the catering enterprise. “Not knowing where it was going to take me, I just thought I would try it out,” she confides.

When asked for her advice for Indigenous students leaving their home communities in search of opportunities, Sundberg laughed and said, “Call me if you need dry meat or fish.” Being away from her traditional foods was a real challenge when she was down South for university, in addition to being far from family, friends and her comfort zone. She stresses the importance of having a strong support system while away from home, whether that’s through video calls home or participating or volunteering in local Indigenous activities in your new community.

As far as obstacles go, Sundberg found she was able to overcome many challenges through her language and culture and by knowing who she is. She advocates for taking on hard things head on, with the help of a strong support system and asking for elders and aunties for advice. She tries to be the kind of person she needed when she was growing up in guiding the next generation.

Looking back, Sundberg wishes someone had told her to get into her language and culture (and to stay in school!) She also would have liked to have been told to get more involved in family gatherings and community events.

To balance her mental health, Sundberg goes out on the land. Having a good support system has been important for her as well as going swimming and spending time in the sauna. Taking long walks, listening to music, and going to drum dances have all been helpful, too.

When it comes to inspiration, Sundberg is inspired by her mother, her grandmother, her aunties, and the mothers of her friends who were there for her during difficult times. She admires how they continued the practice of their language, culture and laws.

After spending time in university, Stacey Drygeese Sundberg came to realize that she needed to be learning from her community’s own knowledge keepers and came home. Now heading up an Indigenous-owned and operative community catering collective, she’s sharing the wealth and feeding people with joy. Like the name of their collective, she’s found working together “tastes good.”

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.