Empowering Indigenous Communities across Canada
Cedric Pepelea’s work with Indigenous communities in Canada began through his engineering studies and community engagement projects related to energy systems and greenhouse production. Through empowering work with organizations like Focus Forward for Indigenous Youth and Indigenous Clean Energy, working alongside Indigenous communities can contribute to meaningful and lasting positive change.
Focus Forward for Indigenous Youth
Cedric was one of the four founding members and served as the Operations Director for Focus Forward for Indigenous Youth, a national charity that became his introduction to working directly with Indigenous communities. The organization's mission was to create trade-based educational opportunities for Indigenous youth centered around community-driven construction projects.
The organization's first two major projects were with the Montreal Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan and the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island. The organization successfully completed the construction of their two large builds, a net-zero solar powered 4-season greenhouse at Camp Hope in the Montreal Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan and another solar powered 4-season greenhouse for the board of education in Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island Ontario.
Cedric helped organize educational workshops for up to 14 students from each community, where they received safety training and protective equipment before participating in the greenhouse construction. The hands-on experience taught trade skills while instilling pride in the youth as they contributed to an impactful community project.
The focus on community-driven priorities, youth engagement, and sustainable infrastructure development became a blueprint for Cedric's future work with Indigenous groups. He volunteered with Focus Forward for 5 years, gaining invaluable experience in Indigenous collaboration and project implementation.
Key aspects of Cedric's involvement included:
Conducting community consultations to determine project priorities
Coordinating construction and technical aspects
Liaising with contractors, suppliers, engineers, and consultants
Providing technical information for grant applications
Securing corporate sponsorships and equipment/material donations
Helping raise close to $1 million in capital over several years
Indigenous Clean Energy
Cedric's involvement with Indigenous Clean Energy (ICE) began in 2019 when he was invited to lead a training session in Yellowknife as part of their 20/20 Catalyst program. This program brought together 20 community energy champions from Indigenous communities across Canada to learn about implementing large-scale energy infrastructure projects. Cedric presented and taught Indigenous champions the process of feasibility studies for utility scale renewable energy and energy conservation projects using RETScreen Expert as a tool to calculate the potential impacts and costs. He also demonstrated how to both model energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy projects as well as instructed on financial analysis and impact calculations for the proposed initiatives.
This initial engagement led to an ongoing relationship with ICE, where Cedric has been involved in multiple programs over the past 5 years:
1. Bringing It Home Program
Bringing It Home is a national initiative that fosters community-centred ‘Healthy Energy Living’ enabling environments that engrain energy efficiency for new and retrofitted homes and facilities. This enabling environment focuses on strengthening capacity across six key domains: Governance & Leadership, Asset Management, Maintenance, Skills, Design & Construction, and Financing. Cedric supports the program through ongoing mentorship, coaching, and delivering on-site training in British Columbia and Quebec.
2. 20/20 Catalysts Program
The 20/20 Catalysts Program is an intensive Indigenous clean energy capacity-building program unlike any other. The program provides practical and applied learning about renewable energy projects, community energy planning, energy efficiency and conservation, business management, and advanced energy systems. In addition, participants (‘Catalysts’) are supported to move clean energy projects forward on the ground. Cedric supports this program through teaching feasibility studies, software use, and project planning.
3. ImaGENation Program
Cedric provides mentorship to the ImaGENation program that creates space for Indigenous youth to imagine a sustainable future for their community and the opportunity to transform that vision into meaningful project-based action. Teams of Indigenous youth (ages 18-30) from across Canada are selected and enrolled into an 18-month program that provides a culturally embedded ecosystem of support to plan and implement their clean energy project idea.
Through these programs, Cedric has built strong relationships with numerous Indigenous communities across Canada. His expertise has been applied to diverse projects, including conducting commercial energy audits (e.g., arena in Kuujjuaq), supporting grant applications (e.g., $3 million Green and Inclusive Community Buildings grant), facilitating heat loss workshops for housing projects, and providing community engagement support for various initiatives.
Cedric's work with ICE has allowed him to expand his impact and continually learn from the innovative approaches and determination demonstrated by Indigenous communities in addressing their energy and sustainability challenges.
Reflections and learnings
Through his extensive work with Indigenous communities, Cedric has gained valuable insights and perspectives like the importance of listening. Cedric emphasizes the critical need for organizations to actively listen when working with Indigenous communities. The approach acknowledges that communities often already know their needs and potential solutions; they may just need support in project implementation. Cedric notes being consistently inspired by the passion and commitment demonstrated by Indigenous partners in seeing projects through to completion. Each community faces distinct circumstances, requiring tailored solutions rather than one-size-fits-all approaches.
By continuing to approach these opportunities with humility, respect, and a commitment to true partnership, Cedric and organizations working alongside Indigenous communities contribute to meaningful and lasting positive change. The key lies in remaining adaptable, listening intently, and always prioritizing the self-determined needs and aspirations of each unique Indigenous community.