Celebrating Our 2026 OneFeather Bursary Recipients

Supporting learners who are bringing their education back to community

At OneFeather, we believe in walking alongside the next generation of community leaders. This year, we are honoured to celebrate six students whose stories reflect determination, service, and a deep commitment to the communities that shaped them.

These recipients come to us through two bursary programs. The OneFeather Community Impact Bursary supports students and community members from Nations using OneFeather, awarding $5,000 in total funding each year. The OneFeather SD72 Student Success Bursary was awarded for the first time at the 2026 SD72 Awards and Bursary night in Campbell River. This bursary holds special meaning for us: School District 72 is where OneFeather founder Lawrence Lewis graduated, and it serves his home community. Through it, OneFeather provides $2,000 in support to students in the district.

We are proud to introduce this year's recipients.

OneFeather Community Impact Bursary

Sienna S.

Sienna is a citizen of the TYRMC community council, MNO Region 8, who grew up in Newmarket, Ontario. Her path toward firefighting follows her grandfather, who served as a firefighter in East York and helped her build pride and understanding in her Métis heritage. She has been accepted to study Fire Protection Engineering Technology at Seneca Polytechnic, followed by pre-service firefighting training, and already serves through the Trailblazers program with Central York Fire. After her training, she hopes to join a municipal fire department and serve her community directly.

"As a proud Metis student, my heritage has taught me the importance of community connection, perseverance, and helping others. These values have guided me through my journey to become a firefighter, a career where I hope to serve my community with pride, compassion, integrity, and respect."

Mary M.

Mary is a member of Simpcw First Nation working toward her Bachelor of Social Work, with the goal of becoming a counsellor for youth and adults connected to the foster care system. She hopes to create an art therapy program in her community grounded in Indigenous ways of being, including on-the-land activities, beading, sewing, and basket making, believing that reconnecting to culture can begin a healing journey. She is already deeply involved in her community as a foster parent, a volunteer firefighter, and a volunteer at Simpcw's annual Honouring Young Women Powwow, and she is determined to bring her learning home.

"Community is very important to me, and it is why I spend a lot of my time volunteering for my Simpcw community. I want to be able to connect Indigenous youth and adults in Indigenous culture, through beading, sewing and harvesting. Being awarded this bursary is one step closer to this dream and I am so thankful. Kukstsemc."

Talyn B.

Talyn is from Rainy River First Nation and lives in Barrie, Ontario. She will be starting the Transitional Year Program at the University of Toronto, with the goal of continuing into architecture at the Daniels School of Architecture. She is drawn to architecture because of how spaces make people feel, and because growing up she rarely saw places that reflected Indigenous identity or culture. She wants to design spaces that feel welcoming, tell community stories, and support healing and connection. Talyn has volunteered at the Barrie Native Friendship Centre since 2022 and stays grounded in her culture as a bead artist, a jingle dress dancer, and a member of the Three Fires Midewiwin Lodge.

OneFeather SD72 Student Success Bursary

Riley F. — Indigenous Student Success Bursary

Riley is a student from Timberline Secondary School who connects to his Indigenous identity through his mother, a member of the 'Namgis First Nation in Alert Bay, a connection he describes as an important part of his background and community. After graduation, he plans to attend North Island College in Campbell River, taking courses that will transfer to Vancouver Island University, with the long-term goal of becoming an elementary school teacher. He has always been drawn to working with children and helping others learn, and he sees teaching as a meaningful way to give back to his community and support future generations.

Riley B. — Student Success Bursary

Riley is a first-year heavy-duty mechanic apprentice at Timberline Secondary School, working toward his Red Seal Heavy Duty Mechanic certification. He is drawn to mechanical work both for the problem solving and for the way the trade lets him support the people around him, and he is enrolled in level two of his apprenticeship at North Island College in Campbell River. Community involvement is a natural part of his life: he repairs neighbours' equipment, troubleshoots friends' vehicles, and keeps his family's engines running, acts of service that have taught him responsibility, patience, and the value of sharing what he knows.

Alexis R. — Student Success Bursary

Alexis is a dedicated, goal-oriented student at Timberline Secondary School who is passionate about pursuing a future in law. She will attend Acadia University to complete an undergraduate degree in Law and Society, with the long-term goal of continuing to law school and becoming a lawyer, specializing in family law. She wants to support families through difficult times and advocate for fairness and understanding. Giving back has long mattered to her: she has volunteered at the Campbell River Hospital and Yucalta Lodge nursing home, and through her school's Interact Club she has helped organize food and clothing drives for those in need.

To this year's recipients

Congratulations. On behalf of everyone at OneFeather, it is an honour to celebrate each of our recipients.

Our work is rooted in service to Nations across Turtle Island. We support self-determination through technology and the kind of modern tools our communities deserve, and we believe the strength of those Nations has always lived in the next generation. For our Indigenous recipients, we see that strength clearly in you. For every recipient, we see a young person choosing to build something meaningful and to carry it forward.

Education is one of the most powerful things you can pursue. Every step you take forward carries meaning not only for yourself, but for the family, community, and people behind you. That is not a burden to carry. It is a gift, and one we hope you hold with pride.

We also want to thank everyone who applied. This year we received more than 80 applications, and every story shared with us was inspiring and worthy in its own right. Choosing among them was not easy, and to each person who put their journey, their goals, and their hopes into words and sent them our way: thank you. We carry your stories with us, and we encourage every one of you to keep walking your path with confidence.

Whatever lies ahead, lean into the knowledge of where you come from, and trust that the traditional and the contemporary both have something to offer you. The wisdom you gain belongs not only to you, but to the people and places that shaped you. We hope that one day, it finds its way home.

OneFeather will be cheering you on—congratulations again!