Amy Ede’s entrepreneurial journey began not with a business plan, but with a need for survival, integrity, and care. After years of navigating institutions that steadily eroded her wellbeing, she reached a point where continuing on the same path was no longer possible. “Institutional violence was taking a toll on my health and deeply challenged my wellbeing,” she reflects. While those experiences helped shape her skillset, they also clarified what she could no longer accept. What she needed was space—a way of working that allowed her to be honest, relational, and whole. 

Since launching her consultancy full-time in 2022, Amy has built a practice rooted in values rather than extraction. A Dene consultant, facilitator, storyteller, and writer, she brings nearly a decade of experience in strategic communications and marketing to work that advances Indigenous priorities across arts, tourism, film and television, housing, health, advocacy, and philanthropy. But for Amy, the work has never been just about sectors or deliverables. It’s about how people show up for one another. 

That commitment was shaped early on by a defining experience. In a workplace where another Indigenous woman was hired into a role that might have positioned them as competitors, Amy made a conscious choice to reject the scarcity model imposed by colonial systems. “We were supposed to fight,” she says. “But instead, I brought her a gift and medicine and offered my full support, including access to all the work I’d done.” What followed was collaboration, trust, and excellent work — and eventually, a copper and cedar bracelet gifted in return. “Every time I honour my values of honesty and showing up with my whole self, I am rewarded with the same from others.” 

That ethos continues to guide Amy’s business decisions today. She is clear about the cost of straying from her mission, and experiences with work that only loosely aligns with her values have reinforced her commitment to choosing projects grounded in mutual respect, purpose, and care. 

Authenticity is not a branding exercise for Amy; it is a daily practice. Whether deciding how to dress for a meeting or how directly to speak, she has learned that choosing to be herself creates space for others to do the same. “Every time I choose to be authentic, it’s noticed and appreciated,” she says. “It encourages someone else to show up like themselves too.” That quiet leadership—opening doors rather than forcing them—has become one of her most powerful tools. 

While Amy’s Indigenous heritage is central to who she is, she is thoughtful about how identity shows up in her work. Rather than positioning culture as a checkbox or aesthetic, she emphasizes relationship, accountability, and shared responsibility. “Without accountability to my community, I am lost and not growing,” she says. “Earning people’s trust and showing up for them is a huge gift.” Much of that accountability lives within urban Indigenous community, where Amy finds grounding, challenge, and support. 

Her understanding of community is expansive. It includes Indigenous women, Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer people, artists, and relatives across movements and borders. Families of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people taught her “the power of forgiveness and humility.” Those teachings continue to shape how she approaches advocacy, strategy, and storytelling. “I am constantly humbled by cause and effect,” she says. “I laugh at myself a lot.” 

Connection, for Amy, is not transactional. It is a responsibility. She is known for making introductions, nominating others for opportunities, and amplifying voices that might otherwise be overlooked. “My gift is making connections,” she says simply. Whether helping artists get paid, advocating behind the scenes, or offering free support when she can, she sees her role as part of a larger ecosystem. “If I don’t super need the money, it’s more important to honour the community that built me than to take an opportunity.” 

That commitment extends beyond Indigenous-specific work. Amy speaks openly about solidarity with other marginalized communities and the importance of resisting narratives that pit people against one another. The work, she believes, is never about competing for limited space, but about challenging the systems above that create scarcity in the first place. 

At the core of Amy’s vision is sovereignty — not only in the political sense, but in the everyday ability for Indigenous people to live, work, and create on their own terms. She is thoughtful about the risks of assimilation within entrepreneurship, particularly when success is measured only by growth or profit. “Connection to community is key,” she says. “Assimilation is a huge threat to our sovereignty and our ability to create change that benefits everyone.” For Amy, success means supporting people to live in their communities if they choose, to thrive in urban environments, and to find belonging wherever they are. 

Her consultancy reflects that vision. Amy works with Indigenous and non-Indigenous clients alike, embedding opportunities into projects, shaping engagement strategies, and ensuring that stories are told with care and intention. “I’ll work on a project that’s not necessarily Indigenous-focused in order to get artists paid,” she says. Increasing Indigenous influence in the stories told about Indigenous people is not optional — it is essential. 

Looking ahead, Amy’s goals remain grounded rather than grandiose. She plans to continue hiring subcontractors, submitting larger proposals, and building a practice where people can gain experience and support without replicating harmful hierarchies. “I don’t ever want to have employees,” she says. “I just want to continue to build my profile, earn trust, and do great work so I can open doors for others and have the resources I need to find peace.” 

For Indigenous people considering entrepreneurship, Amy offers honesty rather than platitudes. She acknowledges the realities of financial precarity and the uneven access to capital that many face. “It’s a huge ask to say ‘bet on yourself’ when you have to pay to exist,” she says. Her advice is practical and values-driven: work for others until you can be free, apply for available programs, set aside money for taxes, return often to your mission statement, and — above all — show up. Showing up can look like amplifying others, being present, or investing time and care. All of it matters. 

When Amy joined ADAAWE, what she found was a space that allowed her to activate her natural strengths—particularly her ability to connect people. Today, as a trusted Mentor, facilitator of ADAAWE's Let's Get Digital series, and contributor to entrepreneurial support programming, she continues to show what values-based leadership can look like in practice. 

Amy Ede’s story is not one of hustle or self-made mythology. It is a story of choosing relationship over hierarchy, integrity over ease, and community over isolation. It is a reminder that entrepreneurship does not have to come at the cost of our health, our values, or one another — and that when we hold tight to what matters, “the work comes.”