She loved numbers and math and that has added up to a career of giving back. Melanie Assiniwe is from Wiikwemikoong Unceded Territory on Lake Huron. She is Anishinaabe and works as Director of Capacity Development, Intervention and Prevention with the First Nations Financial Management Board. She’s been with the organization for almost seven years, having started her journey as capacity development manager and advanced to senior Capacity Development Manager before making her way to her current role. What she does is support First Nation administrations in enacting their financial administration law, something that creates a sound financial management system, internal controls, and implementing policies and processes that allow for fairness, respect and accountability.

Assiniwe is a chartered professional accountant. She was inspired to follow that career path after going to a job fair and meeting with Indian Affairs. Growing up, she heard a lot of rumours about First Nations administrations and finances. She asked them what kind of educational background they would be looking for and they told her they wanted chartered accountants.

“I wanted to go work for INAC and create change, and ultimately, help my people. And when I say I help my people, I mean not just Anishinaabek, I mean all coast to coast to coast because that's how I was raised. I can't remember how to say it in the language, but I was raised growing up, if I'm not helping my people, I'm hurting my people. Throughout my career, it's always been making sure that I am giving back to my community somehow,” she explains.

When it comes to her educational journey, Assiniwe got a later start on her journey. She didn’t finish high school, instead getting married and having four kids. She got her GED, wanting to be sure she could always take care of her kids. She went on to get her business administration accounting diploma, graduating with honours and continued on to get her degree through a special agreement between the college and university, receiving her degree within two years instead of four. She kept going with her education to become a chartered accountant after leaving her children’s father, reaching her goal eleven years after she started.

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“Ultimately, I didn't give up. I wanted to prove to not just my naysayers who said I couldn't do it, but I wanted to prove to my daughters that there are many different possibilities out there, many different opportunities. I was wanting to break generational cycles as well. I wanted to create something better for my family,” she recalls.

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Her biggest challenge these days is walking in both worlds and feeling like she has to prove that she is good enough to be at the table. Having been away from community so long, Assiniwe feels sometimes people don’t realize she does know what it’s like to live in community.  “It's about showing I'm worthy of being at either table and at the same time taking the best of both worlds to ultimately help the nation on their journey to whatever they see success is,” she reflects.

Her advice to young adults who may want to pursue a path like hers is “there's a lot that's needed within our First Nation communities when it comes to finance, that there's a disconnect there.” Assiniwe encourages Indigenous youth to go into finance because, “we need to use it as a tool as it was meant to be used. We need to learn these ways so that we can be at those tables. We need to learn those policies, processes and the mainstream society so that we can provide guidance, provide inspiration, and provide a pathway to success."

She advised her own daughter to try it out and see if she liked it. She found she enjoyed working in community and helping out, using that knowledge and experience with her business administration accounting diploma. What Assiniwe has realized is that she is able to help communities through social challenges through financial management because she is able to help them plan and put money aside to get through crises.

When it comes to her mental health, Assiniwe focuses on her spiritual well being to keep things in check, as she was instructed by her elder. She journals, takes her dog for walks, goes into the bush, goes fishing and canoeing, smudges, and asks for guidance instead of strength. Recently, she spent days in the bush to disconnect.

For inspiration, she looks to the love and caring she was raised with from her aunts, uncles, and grandfather and the seven grandfather teachings. Assiniwe was also inspired by her program coordinator who encouraged her and pointed her in the right direction when she was struggling in her education, raising four kids and working as a cashier at Walmart. The conversation they had set her back on the right path when she was having a hard time.

If she could share words of encouragement with Indigenous youth watching they would be, “Don’t give up.” She says there might be times where you might want to stray from your path and someone will help you get back on track but that it’s up to each individual to find their own way and what drives them to keep going. For Assiniwe, it was her kids and proving those who said she couldn’t do it wrong. Her mantra in hard times was one of humility “I'm no better than anybody. No one's better than me.” She also encouraged herself, focused on the task at hand and kept going.

Loving numbers and math has multiplied her career satisfaction and given Melanie Assiniwe the opportunity to give back. Despite the challenges of walking in two worlds, she’s standing tall because she’s reached her goals and shown her kids what is possible with hard work and determination. Working as a Chartered Professional Accountant, she contributes to community capacity in First Nations communities and works with them to create their own definitions of success.

Thank you to Alison Tedford for writing this article.