sage

Founder & CEO, Sage Initiative

National ambassador for the Moose Hide Campaign, an anti-violence organisation and Founder of Sage Initiative, which focuses on training Indigenous Women and members of the LGBTQ+ community on investment literacy; Sage Lacerte is an Indigenous woman looking to change the way money behaves in Indigenous communities through education.

Sage comes from the Carrier Nation in British Columbia. She is a member of the Bear Clan, both of her parents originating from neighbouring communities; The Nadleh Whut’en and Lake Babine Nation. Spending most of her time back and forth on the territory and what is now known as Victoria, British Columbia, she has always been surrounded by a large family. One of six children, she was the baby for a very long time before her two youngest siblings arrived. During summer and winter breaks in between western schooling in Victoria they would hunt, fish, and immerse themselves in family traditions. Sage is truly embedded in her nation.

Today: I grew up very aware of the fact that I was poor. I internalised that as a child and told myself I had something to prove to everyone. I am a very ‘type A’ entrepreneur and my brain is always going. In University I decided to take on a part time job which was to apply for academic awards and scholarships. I had a strong GPA and qualified for most of them through the application process.

I saved more than $10,000 as a result of my work ethic and grades that year. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the money but I did know for certain that I didn't want to put it under my mattress or in another savings account. My father is one of the founding members of Raven Capital Indigenous Partners (RICP) and I was able to make an investment with a clean energy company as a private investor. I did have my stipulations; it needed to be Indigenous owned, honour Mother Earth, and I wanted to meet the CEO. Everyone else investing was doing so with large cheques and I put every dollar I had which is often read as one of the silliest things one can do in investment. Almost all of my eggs were in one basket. It was a life changing decision that made me excited to do it more, become better informed and to grow my financial and investment literacy. I got some practice with money, learning how it behaves in my life and how it does not control what I do and what my relationship to it is. I was really appreciative of the narrative that you do not need accumulated wealth or family money to invest, and this money was a result of my academic labour, a labour that came from a place of love and healing my trauma. I wanted to put it in a good place.

Tomorrow:  I was one of the first people  in my family to complete University. And I'm particularly proud of that because I consider myself a huge nerd and I love academics. 

A few years ago I attended Indigenomics as a participant. It's something I`ve been looking forward to for a long time. To hear from so many thought leaders that influence my work in the investment landscape, I was so blown away. This past year, Carol Anne Hilton who founded Indigenomics approached me and said that there was no way she could host Indigenomics without offering me a chance to be centre stage. Which was an honour that led me to participate this year, serve on panels and co-MC the event. This was something I had always wanted to do and be part of. 

I applied and succeeded in my application for an innovation grant this year. Which is a major milestone in my career and in my personal development journey. The Indigenous Innovation Initiative (i3) supported by WAGE is centred around Indigenous women with bold ideas and I put my name in the hat with hundreds of other entrepreneurs. They chose 100 people, then 50, then 10, then 5, and finally Sage Initiative. Our innovation stands next to a lot of Indigenous women entrepreneurs projects which I believe are all deserving of celebration. I was by far the youngest innovator and the least experienced but they gave me a chance. They believed in the Sage Initiative and I really wanted to make sure my project proved that we can generate a circular economy for the prosperity of our communities and Mother Earth, by training Indigenous women in investment literacy. 

The Future: My understanding is that we all have to work together right now otherwise we won't have a habitable earth to live on. We have a short time to make some significant changes. My understanding around the concept of relationality is bigger than gender, racial or identity politics. We already have many of the resources, knowledge, and technologies needed to build a secure future - what's missing now is collaboration on a global scale to protect those most vulnerable and Mother Earth. 

We can get there. One of the reasons why I chose Indigenous women as a specific demographic for the Sage Initiative is because they put their people and the planet first. Indigenous women entrepreneurs are showing up in the space and taking a stand for sustainability. I want to recognize that we have seen a major pivot and rich value in SROIs that have a positive and measurable impact in our communities as well as the earth. 

I see a deep seeded need to rematriate. My understanding is that if we were to rematriate, we would honour the gendered relationships in the world including our relationship to Mother earth as ‘Mother’. We would honour each other and live a more balanced lifestyle that centres around the community. It would also mean we would disrupt systems that are oriented towards men. Systems that have been androcentric for a very long time. I feel very passionate about including young people in these conversations. Young minds are so brilliant and we have so much to share, we also have so much to learn from our youth. My younger brother and sister are both very entrepreneurial minded and I learn so much from them everyday. I think my little sister is going to rule the world one day. I want to be there with my hand on her shoulder standing behind her saying “we’re all here for you”, and her ancestors are standing there patting her on the back, just rows and rows and rows of mothers that are behind us. Rematriating our economies and culture is for the benefit of all, including our Mother Earth who gives us life.