He grew up watching the news, dreaming of being part of the magic. That dream came true for Creeson Agecoutay… with a lot of hard work. He is Plains Cree and was born in Saskatoon. He grew up in Cowessess First Nation from grade two to grade 12, then did a journalism degree in Regina at the First Nations University of Canada. His education laid a foundation for his dream job.

His childhood was idyllic, growing up around aunties and cousins, going to his first sweat lodge with his uncle, skiing and snowboarding in the winter and playing outside in the summer. Raised by his single mom who worked in the band office, Agecoutay credits his mother for his success. She taught him that “education is our new buffalo”, that getting an education is key to having a good life. She also demonstrated a strong work ethic, working from home in the evenings to provide for their family and helping him and his niece with their homework. She also taught him to be proud of his Indigenous identity and to be kind and respectful.

His advice for someone feeling disconnected from community is to get out of your shell and do uncomfortable things. “I learned about my culture by leaving the house. There's times I didn't want to leave the house, but I would go and experience what a sweat lodge is, or what a pow wow was, or what a Round Dance was.”  Agecoutay remembers how he benefited from listening to elders sharing their life experiences and how he learned that he’s not alone in his struggles.

Agecoutay was also fortunate to have work experience with summer employment doing maintenance at the brand office at the school in the summers of grades 11 and 12. He was also able to get his driver's license with help from the band office, something that helped him transition to city life. There was still a big culture shock going from knowing everyone to knowing no one and having to learn how to take a bus to school where the classes are significantly bigger.

The smaller classrooms at the First Nations University of Canada eased the transition and  Agecoutay was able to get time with the professors to ask questions. Surrounded by other Indigenous students who understood what he was going through and who shared his cultural context, he wasn’t alone.

Now, Agecoutay is the host for APTN national news, the midday newscast at 12 pm Winnipeg time Monday to Friday. He also fills in for Dennis Ward, the 5pm evening anchor host. He finds the work fun, fast-paced and rewarding. “We all work as a team and try to get the latest news up on our newscasts. There's always something going on and we're always updating and following along,” he explains.  

“The reason I got into news is I grew up watching news…That was our time together between me and my mom, I finished school, she finished work, she'd cook supper, and then we all sit around the TV and watch the news, watch the 6pm and then the late night at 11 with CTV national. It was my view into a bigger world, bigger than my reserve, seeing what's out there. I grew up watching Nelson Bird. He's a long time reporter, 25 plus years in Saskatchewan, the Indigenous reporter. I remember seeing him in Holland and other places, reporting all over the world. I remember telling my mom once, I said, “I want to do that job one day,” Agecoutay recalls. Later, a student counsellor recommended he take the Indian Communication Arts Program at First Nations University of Canada on the strength of his writing grades. When he learned there was a summer broadcasting institute taught by Nelson Bird, he was excited.

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At one point, he left school temporarily as his grades were slipping as he was working two jobs. Then, Nelson Bird called and suggested he apply for a student mentorship at CTV Regina and he got to work with BIrd for two years on the show Indigenous Circle. Mentored by Bird and other CTV staff,  Agecoutay reported and filed stories on the show. When he got his degree, he became the host and stayed on for five years until he was asked to join CTV National news as a parliamentary correspondent in Ottawa for two years, then Atlantic bureau chief in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He even went to Rome to cover the Pope's apology to residential school survivors. While he had many job offers when he left CTV, APTN felt like the best fit.

If he could go back in time to when he was working two jobs,  Agecoutay wishes he could tell himself, “Don't be too hard on yourself.” He wanted to finish his degree straight out of high school, and when it didn’t happen and he had to walk away, he felt like a failure. Looking back, he has a different perspective. “Everybody has their own life journey. Nothing is cookie cutter, nothing is set in stone. If you fall down, you can get back up. It's okay. We all make mistakes and we all have our own path that we have to go down.”

His message of hope for someone in a similar struggle would be,

“Times are tough now, but things are going to get better. You just have to have a positive mindset.”  

Agecoutay also believes in praying and speaking intentions out loud and writing them down. “I think prayer is very strong. Creator’s always listening. Once you put that out there in the universe, for some reason, everything falls into place. Then you just have to be thankful that your prayers were heard. I think that you just have to believe and be positive and pray and put it out there in the universe,” he adds.

To stay in balance working in a stressful job like the news, Agecoutay finds it helpful to debrief, discussing things with family. He smudges in prayer to get rid of negative feelings and energies.He walks the dogs, gets out in nature, exercises and plays video games.

After growing up watching the news and dreaming of being part of the magic, Creeson Agecoutay’s dream finally came true… but he had to work for it. It didn’t happen the way he expected but it happened all the same: he became the reporter, the host, the bureau chief, and he’s built the career he always wanted. His hero became his mentor and he found his path to success and that’s a story that will be updated for years to come.

Thank you to Alison Tedford for writing this article.