The Goldfields Aboriginal Business Chamber recently coordinated a remarkable six-day visit for a delegation participating in the British Columbia/Yukon Young Indigenous Leaders Exchange Pilot Program to the Indo-Pacific.

A key part of the visit was GABC's Indigenous Business Networking event - Connecting the Goldfields and Canada, brought Indigenous business leaders from across the world together in Western Australia.

GABC hosted the delegation of Indigenous leaders, economic development professionals, government representatives and young changemakers from British Columbia and Yukon, Canada.

The visit formed part of the British Columbia/Yukon Young Indigenous Leaders Exchange Pilot Program to the Indo-Pacific, a program developed in partnership with Global Affairs Canada and the BC First Nations Centre of Excellence for Economic Development.

The opportunity arose following the attendance of Harlan Schilling, Deputy Chief of the Daylu Dena Council and CEO of the BC First Nations Centre of Excellence, at Yuwa 2025, hosted by GABC in Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Building connections and sharing knowledge

The relationships formed, conversations shared and experiences gained during his time in the Goldfields inspired the inclusion of Kalgoorlie in the delegation's international itinerary, alongside Australia's major cities.

Kalgoorlie was specifically selected as a destination of significance.

GABC said that for the city and region to be included alongside Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra marked an "incredible opportunity to showcase the strength of our Aboriginal communities, businesses, culture and leadership to an international audience".

Mr Schilling, who hails from Lower Post, British Columbia, has dedicated his career to serving the Daylu Dena community, initially as Councillor and currently as Deputy Chief.

Mr Schilling previously served as a combat engineer in the Canadian Armed Forces for seven years.

The British Columbia Assembly of First Nations appointed Mr Schilling as the first chief executive officer of the BC First Nations Centre of Excellence for Economic Development, recognising his considerable experience and dedication to fostering economic development and healing within the Daylu Dene community.

Mr Schilling was recently the elected chief for the Liard First Nation in Watson Lake Yukon.

His leadership is guided by a commitment to economic equity and culturally informed economic development, aiming to achieve meaningful economic reconciliation in BC.

If you take a look at the things that are happening in Canada, specifically with UNDRIP, the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous People, it's actually empowered First Nations at the leadership level," he told National Indigenous Times.

"So, it's given me the ability to completely understand what direction my nation would like to go in, and again using legislation to get us exactly where we need to be.

"I run the First Nations Center of Excellence of Economic Development. Leonard Joe runs the First Nations Forestry Council. Caleb Bain runs the First Nations Energy and Mining Council. So, these three different societies, all have a focus on economic development, and they are tools for all 204 First Nations within British Columbia, but also a tool for the 630 plus First Nations all across Canada."

'I'm hearing more and more about what Indigenous people are doing' in Australia

Mr Schilling noted "there are certain things that are happening here in Australia that even now, as a as a leader for First Nations for the last nine years, that I continue to learn today".

"Being welcomed into Australia, this is my third work trip, and every single time I'm hearing more and more about what the Indigenous people are doing and knocking down walls and barriers that we still have in in in Canada," he said.

"So, the fact that it's the industry and business level that has incorporation that you have knocked down these walls is the complete opposite in Canada, where we've done it on the governance side.

"If we were able to find the balance between these two worlds and show the world that again Indigenous people have been in their own economies since time immemorial, and I think it is again a very beautiful time for us to bridge that gap between all governments on an international level to saying that we deserve a right in our own futures.

"The resources that come that the world needs are from our traditional lands. So, to be able to be a driving force in that... it shows that we are in the rightful place that we need to be."

'I'm the first person in my family where it's been a good thing to be Indigenous person in business'

Another important guest at the GABC series of events was young leader Javen Marchant of the Squamish First Nation, British Columbia.

Mr Marchant, 22, is an entrepreneur, community leader and founder and majority owner of Swakwel Industrial Products, an Indigenous-owned building materials supplier working with contractors and First Nations across Western Canada to support Indigenous procurement and economic development.

Through Swakwel, he develops partnerships with Nations that reduce project costs while creating revenue-sharing opportunities that return value back into communities.

Mr Marchant also operates ventures in Indigenous tourism, consulting, and hospitality, which collectively aim to strengthen Indigenous economic participation and opportunity.

He is also a leader with WISH (World Indigenous Sports & Health), a nonprofit organisation that provides Indigenous youth and adults with free access to sports such as snowboarding, climbing, and mountain biking, alongside mentorship and community support.

"Everyone before me for the last four or five generations has been an entrepreneur, and I've just tried my best to take the best qualities out of all my mentors. I've had many, many great mentors... I think I've always just been gravitated towards entrepreneurship," he told National Indigenous Times.

"I saw a gap in the industry, specifically in my province, where UNDRIP (the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples) has been legislatively implemented, and it gave Indigenous business an upper hand in in our industry, which is the first time ever.

"I'm the first person in my family where it's been a good thing to be Indigenous person in business. I've been an entrepreneur since the beginning of high school."

'Human rights really is the missing link between policy and outcomes'

Indigenous rights advocate Sheena Graham, a proud Ngadju woman from Norseman, WA, was also present at the event and launched her new venture, the Corporate Indigenous Rights Advisory (CIRA).

CIRA is an Indigenous-led advisory firm that works with mining companies to strengthen how they recognise, manage and uphold the human rights of First Nations people.

Ms Graham, the founder and managing director of CIRA, told National Indigenous Times the Advisory "is focused on human rights standards in the mining sector".

"After working for 20 years in diplomacy, human rights, anti-corruption, and sustainability, it became very clear that human rights really is the missing link between policy and outcomes in communities," she said.

"So, Indigenous peoples, we have collective human rights in recognition that our identities are tied to our culture, which is tied to our lands, our waters, and our connections to the to the animals and the waters and all the plants around us, if we lose those connections, we lose our identity, and we are lost to history.

"Our human rights are very critically important to our identity and survival as people. Mining has significant impacts on those important relationships with our lands and waters... if we don't protect them through human rights, we risk losing our very cultures that sustain us."

'There're very different approaches between Australia and Canada'

Ms Graham took the opportunity at the GABC event to connect with First Nations leaders from Canada to discuss their experiences.

"In talking with our friends from Canada, there're very different approaches between Australia and Canada, and I would say the one other thing we have in common is human rights is not necessarily at the centre of it," she told National Indigenous Times.

"For example, in Australia, there are rights around negotiation and having a seat at the table with mining companies, but there is no right to free, prior and informed consent.

"In Canada, free prior and informed consent and the UNDRIP is now in the legislation, but not dealing directly with mining companies means you're also missing those conversations with the mining companies.

"With human rights, it's the same standard that mining companies and governments should be aiming towards, and it's the one benchmark that Indigenous peoples can use to assess.

"Unless regulations have been designed to comply with human rights, they will fall short of human rights. So, if a mining company is focused on compliance with government permits, they will fall short of human rights unless they take additional steps to comply with human rights standards as well. That's what we've been talking about over the last few days, and we're looking to continue collaborating on these very practical solutions in the future."

'Creating a foundation for long-term Indigenous-to-Indigenous partnerships between Australia and Canada'

The event provided a remarkable opportunity to share experience and wisdom, from which Indigenous business people and community leaders on either side of the Pacific were able to benefit greatly.

Through a carefully curated six-day program, delegates hosted by GABC engaged with Aboriginal businesses, cultural tourism operators, educational institutions, community organisations, local government, Indigenous leaders, and the resources sector.

GABC noted the itinerary was designed to "showcase the innovation, resilience, and depth of Aboriginal economic participation in the Goldfields and to create a foundation for long-term Indigenous-to-Indigenous partnerships between Australia and Canada".

All photographs by Dan Jones.