Josee Bourgeois will be performing a traditional Jingle dress dance, in honor of Grow Up hosting the first panel on the Sovereign Cannabis industry, at a Crown-regulated Cannabis industry event.
Josée, is a Jingle dress dancer from the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nations, Mother to a teenage boy.
An advocate for sovereign cannabis, inherent rights, and decolonized access to wellness, Board of Directors member of EduCanNation.
Since 2008, Josee has been building a name for herself as a self-produced professional dance artist, fulfilling a visiting dance artist position at the National Arts Center in 2021- 22. Successfully completing two residencies at the Banff Center for Arts and Creativity, bringing Josee’s long-term project, The Sickness to life on both screen and stage.
In 2019 Josee transitioned to the sovereign cannabis industry as Brand Development Manager for topical wellness company, A K I Wellness, an indigenous-owned and manufactured topical wellness line. Josee also held an additional position as the Community Engagement Manager for the grassroots wholesaler and distributor, Sweetgrass Trading. Josee has help a position as advisory member to CWIC and Co-author to the CWIC (Canadian Women in Cannabis, not-for-profit) submission on Cannabis Act revision recommendations.
In 2021, Josee was included as a cannabis consultant and presenter in the Anishinabek Nation Cannabis Feasibility Study. Josee has been invited by The SprottSchool of Business and Carleton University, several cannabis conventions such as O’cannabis22 and CannExpo23 to discuss the sovereign cannabis industries growth and challenges. Josee currently sits on the Board of Directors as the Advocacy and Policy Advisor to non-for-profit certified cannabis education organization, Educannation. Josee is a trailblazer making her mark in the overall cannabis market as an advocate for sovereignty and indigenous inherent rights to be upheld and respected by the fellow industry.
