Cacelia Trahan

Caceila Trahan or Zhaabwezhaagan (Magical Being) from downtown Sault Ste Marie (Bawaating). The 29 year old kwe is discovering her identity in Anishinaabe, M’iqmac, Mohawk and Irish Heritage. Caceila is the first in her family to graduate high school; and she continued to earn a diploma in Peace and Conflict Studies and a BA in Community Economic and Social  Development. Caceila is the co-founder of Youth Odena and currently works with Larimar Homes, Northern Lights Collaborative and Young Leaders Circle. Caceila has been motivational speaking and consulting for the past decade, most notably for the Sault Youth Association, Sudbury Community Foundation, Angels of Hope Against Human Trafficking, the HSCDSB and ADSB.  In addition, Caceila is the host of “The CC Show”, an online television show launched in 2020.

Caceila has been praised for her community work as an artist and activist. Caceila sits on the Board of Directors at the Indian Friendship Centre, as well as, the Ki Ga Do Waak Nookimiduk (Grandmothers Council). Caceila was awarded an Algoma Visionary Award in 2020 for Community Championship; in 2021 for Social Services, a SSMart Award for Innovation in Social Entrepreneurship in 2017. Caceila was presented with a Zonta Women’s Group recognition rose in 2018, and recognized by Women In Crisis SSM in 2020. Caceila was also named as one of Canada’s Top Leaders Under 30 Covid19 edition.

Caceila has made headlines for receiving grant funding for “To Teach Each Other” a first of its kind cultural identity program. Currently, Caceila is managing a second chapter, “Bringing Spirits Together in a Good Way” (Youth Odena), a thirty-thousand dollar identity reclaiming cultural project, funded by Laidlaw Foundation, offered exclusively to Larimar Homes.

Youth Odena

Youth Odena (YO) is a by-youth, for-youth grassroots organization focused on creating safer youth spaces,  supporting intergenerational programming, providing reconciliation-based and culture-based programs, and  positively impacting the quality of life for youth in the Algoma area. YO has been operating unincorporated since 2016 and launched itself into the community with the  Summer of Growth funded by Laidlaw in the summer of 2017. Founding members of YO have been growing  their careers, relationships, and impacts in the community.

Odena is a word in Anishinaabe that means the gathering of hearts, to mean the genuine gathering of  people or community. This is the heart of our mission: to bring people together in a good way, by youth and  with youth, to build brighter futures. We seek to be reflective to our area, the histories of the land, and the  stories of the people.