About Cedar Bridges Consulting
Jalissa Schmidt, Owner Cedar Bridges Consulting Ltd.
My name is Jalissa. I am a multi-racial member of the Acho Dene Koe First Nation, being Dene, El Salvadorian, and Irish.
It’s been a journey navigating walking among worlds, a journey that came with many teachings and gifts of knowledge that I respect and uphold with the deepest care. My intention is to share my experiences and the knowledge gifted to me in a responsible way that honours myself, my family, my community, and the journey of decolonizing for Indigenous belonging..
I offer a unique perspective on this work. I have personal experience as a student, educator, administrator, and consultant. But most importantly, I have the lived experience of just being me – navigating multiple worlds, systemic barriers, colonization, intergenerational impacts, and the path of decolonization.
With my experience, I add another layer of perspective and representation to the 1.8+ million ways of being Indigenous. Our diverse voices collaborating to honour each other, our communities, and future generations.
- Jalissa, M.A.
Cedar Bridges' Story
Why Cedar Bridges Consulting?
Because I wanted to do things differently.
Throughout my career, I kept running into the same tensions, challenges, and recurring mistakes that stalled the real work of healing forward. I found myself spending my free time advocating for change, teaching cultural safety, and trying to be in a dozen places at once—wanting so badly to support those who were ready to move forward, but simply couldn’t find the pathway to how.
I wanted to build bridges rooted in Indigenous foundations (and yes, that is where the name Cedar Bridges came from).
Taking a colonial approach to reconciliation, indigenization, and decolonization was never going to work. So, I decided it was time. I did the scary thing: I stepped away from a steady role, filed incorporation papers, and chose to show up wherever I was needed to make a genuine difference.
I do this work for myself, and for both present and future generations. And I'm here to walk alongside you.
Values
Intentions & Commitments
In collaboration and relationship, I intend to build bridges of understanding and healing on this journey. By sharing my knowledge in ways grounded in Indigenous values, I believe we have the responsibility to offer future generations a better world than the one we received.
I am committed to:
- Rooting myself, my practice, and my business in Indigenous values of relationality, responsibility, reciprocity, and respect. This includes slowing down and ensuring I’m upholding my intentions, that teachings are shared with permission and protocol, and doing the extra work to ensure that I am decolonizing myself, my practice, and my business along the way.
- Being accountable for my actions, including how they impact myself, my family, my community, and the path to 'reconciliation' I will hold myself accountable to and learn from my mistakes. Mistakes are inevitable on this journey, but they should be respected as a growing opportunity that we learn from and do not repeat.
- Approaching the work from a place of healing. There will be tough conversations, but there will not be harmful conversations. To honour the intention and spirit of Truth and Reconciliation, it must be rooted in the intention of healing and creating new pathways forward for future generations.
- Ensuring that my work is a balanced feather. This means ensuring that the work I do aligns with my values and my community. My intentions in this work must always be to further Indigenous equity and success. This also includes balancing conversations of Truth and Reconciliation and who we are as culturally diverse Indigenous Peoples.
Sustainability & Reciprocity
At this moment, the business team is just one person: me. But, that doesn’t negate my responsibilities to the Land or my community - including being sustainable.
Here are the ways that Cedar Bridges is approaching sustainability:
- Cedar Bridges respects the social responsibility of building bridges of 'reconciliation'. My intentions are always to build meaningful and sustainable bridges of 'reconciliation' by rooting the work in healing, community safety, and belonging.
- Cedar Bridges honours, embodies, and educates on Indigenous perspectives on Land - which includes being respectful caretakers. We must walk the territories we reside upon with gratitude and reciprocity. These are teachings that I follow and that I pass on to others to form and deepen respectful relationships with Land.
- Cedar Bridges Consulting approaches Indigenous consulting work as a community of collaboration. I recognize my role as an urbanized Indigenous consultant, to build bridges of 'reconciliation' and to amplify voices in the community doing this work. When work is outside my role or abilities, I value collaborating and referring to others also doing this work. We all have gifts to share!
- Cedar Bridges Consulting is digital, home-based, and prioritizes limiting its carbon footprint. By offering virtual consulting services, energy consumption, waste, and travel are all reduced. In addition, when travelling for in-person events, Cedar Bridges prioritizes using public transportation to lower carbon emissions, reduce idling traffic, and to limit car use. And, when needed, we only print materials once - even if there's a mistake!
The Future of Cedar Bridges Consulting
As Cedar Bridges Consulting Ltd. grows and changes, my intentions of building bridges of reconciliation and for supporting a bright future for the next generations will grow too. My dream over the next five to seven years are to grow relationships of reconciliation and to offer opportunities that support local Indigenous communities and youth.
In the next seven years, it is the intention that Cedar Bridges Consulting will grow and give back to community. My dream for doing this would be by supporting Indigenous communities and youth. This could look like:
- Offering mentorship opportunities to Indigenous youth with the intentions of offering flexibility and support during post-secondary education, as well as offering an opportunity for work experience.
- Offering scholarships and bursaries for Indigenous post-secondary students, recognizing that finances are a major barrier for Indigenous students attending post-secondary and my responsibility to give back to the community that supported me through my education.
- Offer reciprocity to the community for what the community needs. Cedar Bridges Consulting wants to co-create opportunities with the local community in response to community needs and visions. Part of decolonizing and indigenizing is ensuring that goals, dreams, and/or visions are made in a collaboration.
(Re)Vision Published: September 2026
CCIB Certified Indigenous Business
