Mick Elliott-Keewatin (Okimâwâtik)

Mick Elliott-Keewatin (Okimâwâtik) is a proud two-spirited citizen of the Okanese First Nation with mixed ancestral roots to the UK, Belgium, and Germany. He lives, studies, and plays in Mohkíntis (Calgary) and on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Reserve) including their shared unceded territories with Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. As the inaugural Indigenous business PhD candidate at the University of Calgary, his research examines how Indigenous people and their worldviews can co-exist with dominant Eurocentric worldviews of existing business institutions to invite innovation and transformation. Drawing on decades of multinational corporate experience, he investigates pathways for institutional resurgence that prioritize Indigenous relationships in business scholarship and practice, extending this inquiry to explore how AI informed by Indigenous worldviews and Knowledge systems might address socioeconomic inequities and advance economic equity for marginalized populations.

Mick also volunteers with Indigenous communities on governance, regulatory, and entrepreneurial initiatives and is part of the IEEE ISV North America group supporting socioeconomic transformation. He is on a spiritual and cultural journey, connecting with ceremony and a growing traditional family. He can often be found hiking and walking with his standard poodles and two husbands.