Âsokan Generational Developments

10/15/2026

Âsokan Generational Developments has won the 2026 Indigenous Business Award of Distinction from the Alberta Chambers of Commerce.

Âsokan partner Jenny Xenos spoke on behalf of our team on stage. Thank you to the Alberta Chambers of Commerce () and the Alberta Business Awards of Distinction () for a memorable evening, and to Windspeaker Media for sponsoring the photography.

Two conversations from the night are now on YouTube:

On-stage conversation with Ryan Jespersen: https://youtu.be/_aB0H-SXFng
Windspeaker interview: https://youtu.be/hTGXo2-z-Y4

See the full list of 2026 winners: https://abbusinessawards.com/recipients/

Recognizes a business/organization that is a major economic driver ...

10/12/2026

Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a time to pause and give thanks for family, for harvest, for the people and places that carry us through the year. Today we're thankful for the communities who trust us to work alongside them, for our industry partners, and for the land, air, and water that sustain all of us.

Wishing you and yours a warm Thanksgiving from all of us at Âsokan.

10/06/2026

Haven't listened to Bush to Boardroom yet? Episode 2 is a good place to start.

Justin sits down with Bradyn Parisian, CEO of the Saskatchewan Indigenous Investment Finance Corporation, who describes years of adapting to fit every room he walked into: "You have to be a bit of a chameleon as a Métis person."

Bradyn talks about what it took to stop adapting and start showing up as himself, in boardrooms, classrooms, and beyond, and what he's doing differently for his own kids.

If you're navigating your own version of that same question, this one is worth your time.

Listen on Spotify or read the recap here: https://agdev.ca/bradyn-parisian-on-growing-up-metis-and-finally-showing-up-fully/

09/30/2026

Today we pause to honour the survivors of residential schools, remember those who never came home, and stand with their families and communities who carry that history forward.

Reconciliation asks something ongoing of all of us, to listen, to remember, and to make space for Indigenous communities to be heard as owners and decision-makers.

Today we listen. Today we remember. And tomorrow we keep doing the work.

09/24/2026

We have news we're proud to share!

Âsokan Generational Developments has won the Indigenous Business Award of Distinction at the 2026 Alberta Business Awards of Distinction.

It recognizes showing up alongside Indigenous communities across Alberta, nearly 40 of them and counting, and helping turn partnership into real ownership.

As Justin puts it: "Advancing financial sovereignty, creating pathways to ownership, and ensuring Indigenous communities are meaningful participants in the economy are at the core of why Âsokan exists."

Read more: https://www.einpresswire.com/article/944909953/sokan-generational-developments-wins-indigenous-business-award-of-distinction

Thank you to every community and partner who has trusted us with this work. We can't wait to keep building alongside you.

09/04/2026

A press release announcing a partnership is easy to produce.

Structuring the governance, the revenue sharing, and the long-term relationship behind it- that's the part that determines whether a deal actually delivers for a community twenty years down the road.

Premiers and ministers don't always see that second half of the work from where they sit. Conversations like the ones Justin Bourque has been having, at the Western Premiers' Conference and behind closed doors with environment ministers, are where that gap slowly starts to close.

📖 Read the full blog: https://agdev.ca/two-rooms-one-message/

09/01/2026

The message hasn't changed. What's new is who's hearing it.

Justin Bourque sat down with environment ministers at the Canadian Conference of Environment Ministers, no cameras, no press, no livestream. Just a direct conversation about something Indigenous communities have been saying for years: economic development and environmental responsibility are not competing goals.

For some ministers in that room, hearing that framing delivered directly, without the filters of a public forum, was genuinely new.

That's what getting a seat at the right table looks like.

📖 Read the full blog: https://agdev.ca/two-rooms-one-message/

08/12/2026

"Comparison is the thief of joy."

Bradyn Parisian calls it one of the best quotes he's ever heard. And in an era of social media where it's easy to measure yourself against everyone else, it's more relevant than ever.

His advice to a room full of Indigenous youth goes deeper than motivation. It's about reprogramming how you think. Starting with something as simple as standing in front of a mirror every morning and telling yourself what you're capable of. It sounds simple. But over time, that little switch flips, and you start to see the world differently.

He didn't come from a lot. He had to learn to shift from a poverty mindset to a growth mindset. And now as a father and educator, he lives the same ideals he teaches.

If you don't have a mentor, be one.

Episode 2 of Bush to Boardroom featuring Bradyn Parisian. 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Ykt5AnwXtCP41QM4XYE95?si=x3he7r2USqCLrMoKspHbLQ&nd=1&dlsi=91db480b647c4975

08/05/2026

Imposter syndrome doesn't go away. Bradyn Parisian lives it every single day.

As a Métis person, a dad, and someone still new to his role, he describes it as a perpetual challenge. Feeling like he doesn't know enough about who he is and where he came from.

But then came the moment that changed something. Serving on his first corporate board for a $10 billion financial institution, he was voted vice chair in his second year. By his third year, he became the first-ever Indigenous and youngest-ever chairman of that institution.

The realization? He was actually really smart. And he had a lot to contribute.

Episode 2 of Bush to Boardroom featuring Bradyn Parisian. 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Ykt5AnwXtCP41QM4XYE95?si=x3he7r2USqCLrMoKspHbLQ&nd=1&dlsi=91db480b647c4975

07/31/2026

Bradyn Parisian knew very little about his own heritage growing up. Reconciliation wasn't even a conversation yet. Residential schools were barely spoken about.

It took actively searching for his roots and formally registering with the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan to find them. And even that wasn't easy. Documentation and record-keeping for his grandfather's generation was spotty at best.

But through that process came something he describes as an awakening. It doesn't always have to be this way.

Now he's making sure his kids know that too.

Episode 2 featuring Bradyn Parisian. 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Ykt5AnwXtCP41QM4XYE95?si=x3he7r2USqCLrMoKspHbLQ