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This National Indigenous History Month, Volunteer Canada made space to listen. In conversation with Autumn Peltier, Anishinabek Nation’s Chief Water Commissioner, and through a panel with Lori Campbell, Nikki Komaksiutiksak, and Georgie Gagne, we heard from Indigenous leaders who are reshaping what care, community, and participation look like in practice. Their insights reminded us that volunteering isn’t always formal, and it’s rarely about recognition. It is often a responsibility rooted in care, kinship, survival, and justice.
Autumn’s journey began with a speech in a school gym and has since carried her voice across national and international stages including the United Nations. She reflected not on accolades, but on her roots in intergenerational family tradition. “A lot of the work that I do is volunteering… volunteering my time, volunteering my voice,” she said. This kind of volunteering doesn’t come with sign-in sheets. It is grounded in reciprocity and cultural knowledge. She also spoke candidly about burnout and the importance of balance through traditional practices, creativity, and community. It was a powerful reminder that volunteering must be sustainable—not just for the cause, but for the people behind it.
That same sense of responsibility was reflected in Lori Campbell’s story of making bannock during the pandemic, and in Nikki Komaksiutiksak’s work to help repatriate deceased Inuit from urban areas to their home communities. These acts were not assigned. They were instinctive and rooted in cultural care.
A key theme across both conversations was that young people are already leading. Autumn spoke of how much her courage came from family, and how important it is for adults to simply show up. “Just feeling heard and loved is so important when it comes to building that courage to feel heard.” The panelists emphasized that Indigenous youth carry both wisdom and vision. What they need is space and encouragement, not permission.
Listening to these leaders was a gift. Autumn’s closing advice was simple: “If you want to do something, you just do it.” For those of us in the nonprofit and volunteer sector, that means acting with care, courage, and consistency.
As we move forward from Indigenous History Month, I invite all of us, particularly those working in volunteering, philanthropy, and community engagement, to reflect on how we show up. What would it mean to value relationships as much as results? To honour Indigenous knowledge not just in words, but in practice? To make space for care, for collaboration, and for truth-telling, even when it challenges our systems? Autumn’s reminder stays with us: “If you want to do something, you just do it.” When we ground our actions in love, accountability, and reciprocity, we do not just support communities, we grow with them. That is how movements take root.
