Introducing Talaysay Campo: Land, Legacy, and Indigenous Entrepreneurship

Meet Talaysay Campo, an Indigenous entrepreneur, wellness advocate, keynote speaker, and the daughter and successor of the founder of Talaysay Tours.

Rooted in both the Squamish and Shíshálh Nations and raised on the Sunshine Coast, Talaysay has built her life and work around a powerful family teaching:

“We are the land, and the land is us.”

In the latest episode of the Matriarch Movement Podcast’s Indigenous Voices of This Generation season, host Shayla sits down with Talaysay to talk about land stewardship, cultural knowledge, entrepreneurship, reconciliation, matriarchy, and what it means to build a business rooted in identity and community.

Talaysay’s story begins with her childhood on the Sunshine Coast, where she grew up alongside her mother’s entrepreneurial journey. What started in 2001 as a small family kayaking business eventually grew into Talaysay Tours, an Indigenous-owned eco-tourism company offering cultural walking tours throughout Vancouver, Squamish, and Whistler.

But Talaysay’s work extends far beyond tourism.

She has helped build an Indigenous apparel line and skincare brand, using entrepreneurship as a way to reclaim and celebrate culture while creating opportunities for the next generation.

Throughout the conversation, Talaysay reflects on the loss and revival of cultural knowledge following the Potlatch Ban and residential schools, the importance of intergenerational teachings, and her own understanding of matriarchy.

She also shares stories that challenge the versions of history many of us were taught.

One of those stories takes us back to 1885, when Vancouver caught fire.

The Indigenous Women Who Responded When Vancouver Burned

In 1885, Vancouver caught fire.

As the flames spread through the young community, people fled toward Burrard Inlet. Some began jumping into the water to escape the fire.

But what happened next is a story that deserves to be remembered.

With the men away working in the mountains, Indigenous women of the community responded. Led by an elder named Angus Rivers, they gathered every woman who knew how to paddle and put them into canoes.

Twelve canoes crossed the inlet that day.

They navigated through fire, smoke, and chaos, searching for people desperately trying to escape the flames.

There was another challenge: they didn’t speak the same language as the people they were trying to rescue.

So they sang.

They sang loudly enough to be heard over the fire, using their voices to guide people toward the canoes. They pulled survivors from the water and brought them back to the longhouses, where they were fed and clothed.

They saw people in danger and responded.

This story is a powerful reminder that Indigenous communities have long carried traditions of care, leadership, generosity, and responsibility toward others.

It is also one of countless stories that have been overlooked or left out of the history many of us were taught.

Carrying Knowledge Forward

Talaysay’s work is deeply connected to these stories.

Through Talaysay Tours, she creates opportunities for people to learn about Indigenous cultures, histories, and relationships with the land directly from Indigenous knowledge holders.

Her work demonstrates how tourism can be more than an industry. It can be a pathway for cultural education, reclamation, and economic reconciliation.

In the episode, Talaysay talks openly about growing up alongside her mother’s business, stepping into her own role within the company, and finding ways to carry cultural knowledge forward while creating something that belongs to her generation.

She also explores what it means to mentor the next generation and how matriarchy shows up in her life, her family, and her community.

At its heart, this is a conversation about land stewardship, intergenerational knowledge, cultural reclamation, and building Indigenous-led businesses that reflect who Indigenous people truly are.

Indigenous Voices of This Generation is a season about Indigenous trailblazers, changemakers, and knowledge carriers who are leading the way while remaining rooted in who they are.

Talaysay’s story is a reminder that Indigenous history isn’t simply something that happened in the past.

It is alive in the people carrying knowledge forward, in the businesses creating new pathways, in the relationships with the land, and in the stories that continue to be shared.

🎙️ Listen to the latest episode of the Matriarch Movement Podcast featuring Talaysay Campo.

@talaysay_campo

@nenaglacial

https://www.talaysay.com/