Mark Marsolais-Nahwegahbow

• Founder
• Birch Bark Coffee Company

Mark is Ojibwe and a band member of Whitefish River First Nation located on Birch Island, Ontario in the District of Manitoulin Island. He is the founder of a First Nations owned innovative social enterprise called Birch Bark Coffee Company and he is on a mission to change Indigienous lives on a national level.

Through the sales of its coffee, the Birch Bark Coffee Company plans to take immediate action to elevate the on-going “Boiled Water Advisories” in Ontario and help the other provinces across Canada. Indigenous people in Canada continue to live in Third World conditions and Mark has sought to educate the world that BBCC can and will make a difference through innovation and self-determination.

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About This Talk

Access to water is recognized as a human right by the United Nations. Water is seen as a basic essential in a person's life and really, without water, none of us would be here today. The lack of access to safe, sufficient and affordable water has had a devastating impact on First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities in Canada, not to mention on a global scale. I will share with you my purpose and the many other layers that Birch Bark Coffee Company stands for and the social impacts that we feel we will have on tackling the Thirds World conditions in many communities, and the global message that Birch Bark Coffee Company is sharing with the world about ethical choices and sustainability.