Dakota Norris

Originally from Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Dakota is a Gwich’in First Nation youth and recent graduate of the University of Saskatchewan. Dakota has been researching Indigenous topics in economic development, entrepreneurship, e-commerce, youth engagement, and global strategy for several years. He currently works as a Junior Research Scholar at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, examining how Indigenous Canadians can engage with Asia. In the past, Dakota has helped with Indigenous business competitions, setting up an entrepreneurship initiative at the Edwards School of Business, and consulted in marketing and management. Dakota will use his background with Indigenous topics, research, and entrepreneurship in his role as Project Manager for the FutureXchange program. “In my work with YCL, I've learned how eager youth are to take action and lead in the climate space. Empowering them to do so with skills, policy, and finance is an important, neglected, and solvable challenge."