b'WHERE ARE THEY NOW?management, says Pratt, a Dakota anddidnt want it to be theoretical, so heArcheology], and was also a lead character Ojibway from Cote First Nation. Wedecided to develop a business in the realvoice for an animated series. I had [done] did a lot of community events with anworld. By the end of my two years at thisa bunch of other things as wellin front Indigenous culture focus. We worked aschool, not only had I developed a newof the camera kind of talent.lot with social services in Saskatchewanbusiness concept and idea, but when it [as well as] non-profits, providing dancelaunched it got its first $40,000 in projectThat talent was acting and while Pratt classes and programs for Native childrenfunding, Pratt says. So, by the time Ienjoyed his acting gigs, he also found in care. And then we did performancescompleted that program, I had a newhe was regularly typecast into certain for organizations and communities allbusiness called Skoden Entertainment.roles. My experience in the industry over Canadafrom Toronto all the waywas very stereotypical. It was difficult for to Alberta. Skoden Entertainment is a film and tele- Indigenous people to get roles in major vision production company that focusesproductions because you get typecast, At its peak, Wambdi Dance had 16on creating diversity within the entertain- he says. I only got put out for 1800s performers contracted to work for thement industry by bringing Indigenouskind of Native characters, and that was company, drawing the attention of thestories created by Indigenous film makersit. And that was a problem because Ive broader Indigenous community. In 2016,to a wider audience. We produce worknever lived in the 1800s. Where was the Pratt was honoured with CCABs Youngwith different organizations and alsorepresentation of Indigenous people in Aboriginal Entrepreneur Award for hisproduce our own content in the filmmodern TV?work as founder and creative directorindustry. The whole goal around it was of Wambdi Dance, which in many waysto develop methods to increase diver- BUSINESS KNOW-HOWcemented his future career trajectory. sity within entertainment, specificallyPratts unique mix of industry experience authentic stories from an Indigenousand education helped him to tackle the Not long after that, I got into a mastersperspective, Pratt says. issue of Indigenous representation in degree program at the University offilm and inspired him to create his own Southern California (USC) for a degreeWhile the transition from dance to filmproduction company. He started up in social entrepreneurship, which had awould typically mark a significant change,Skoden Entertainment, and his role in the focus on how to make a positive socialPratt had already garnered some expe- industry changed as a result. I became impact with your business. It was what Irience in the world of film. It was a littlemore of a producer of on-camera talent. preferred versus a regular MBA, Pratt says. bit different from what I was doing, butWhat I do mostly is produce and direct I was already in the industry, just not incontent for the organization, our own CREATING DIVERSITY as much of a leadership position, hecontent, he says.While obtaining his degree from USCssays. At the time while I was going to Marshall School of Business, Pratt had toschool and running my first company, IPratt credits his education for much of his complete a major capstone project. Hewas also hired to host a TV series [Wildsuccess. Producers, theyre the ones that are dealing with the financing, putting together the teamsthe creative team and technical team. My business educa-tion allowed me to start one company, and then go into entertainment. I had the skills and the understanding of how to put together a budget, how to write a grant, and how to write a performance. My business education made me [a] very capable producer.Since starting his production company, Pratt has worked on several projects. The first was a mini web series for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) called Lands Wandered, an adven-ture series hosted by Pratt that takes viewers to some of the most famous loca-tions across North America, showing their Indigenous history. That was significant because it was the first proof of concept for producing something I would have liked to see, Pratt says. Since then, weve done a lot of other stuff. Weve started to create commercials and things like that for other organizations. 72A CCAB PUBLICATION2023'