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Nicole Callihoo, a 2002 graduate of the Native Studies program, leads Indigenous recruitment and retention initiatives at Deloitte Canada.

When Nicole Callihoo was a teenager, she wanted to be a social worker. But after entering a general studies program at Red Deer College at age 17, she interviewed some social workers and discovered it wasn’t her calling after all. The profound responsibility of potentially separating families weighed heavily on her young mind, a stark contrast to her innate desire to uplift and connect. The prospect of a lengthy climb to leadership also felt at odds with her urgent desire to make a tangible difference. It was then that student recruiters from the Faculty of Native Studies paid a visit to Red Deer.

“I never thought that university was the place for me,” recalls Callihoo. The program resonated deeply, sparking a flicker of possibility, even while the daunting prospect of university studies lingered. After learning that all of her college courses were transferable, she realized, in essence, she was already in university, so she decided to go for it. 

The Native Studies program

As a young urban Indigenous person educated off reserve, the Native Studies curriculum forged a new understanding of Callihoo’s identity and the historical injustices faced by Indigenous people. The revelations of residential schools and the misrepresentation of treaties ignited a firestorm of emotions — anger, grief and a fierce determination for change. Her burgeoning activism, however, was tempered by her mother's pragmatic wisdom: find a path to help their people.

Callihoo remembers the support she received from the Faculty when her grandmother was sick. “They got somebody to take my notes, got my midterms changed and gave me two weeks' grace to visit my grandmother in the hospital and spend time with my family,” says Callihoo. “I will never forget that.” This act of profound compassion from the Faculty left an indelible mark, solidifying her sense of belonging and the unwavering support she found within the program.

Her Native Studies degree built an indispensable toolkit, empowering her to deconstruct historical narratives, articulate Indigenous perspectives with clarity and strength, develop meaningful connections with communities and understand the enduring impact of intergenerational trauma.

To students considering a program in Native Studies, Callihoo says, “Do it! It opens so many doors. It gives you the skills needed to write those proposals, work with governments, negotiate agreements and do the work our communities need.”

Beginning a career

After graduating from Native Studies in 2002, Callihoo immediately received job offers from the Government of ß÷ßäÉçÇø, City of Edmonton, her nation and the ß÷ßäÉçÇø Native Friendship Centres Association. Driven by a spirit of exploration and a desire to test the reach of her degree, Nicole ventured to Vancouver, where she created industry training programs for Indigenous people.

Callihoo moved back to Edmonton in 2003 as the assistant executive director of the before moving to Ottawa, where she worked with the for several years, first as program manager, then senior programs advisor. She was also the Aboriginal outreach officer for the Commission of Public Complaints against the RCMP.

Returning to school

Wanting to build a bridge of understanding between government bureaucracy and Indigenous ways of knowing, Callihoo embarked on a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Saskatchewan in 2012. “When I entered the MPA program, it was to bring those two ways of thinking together, or at least be the translator between the two,” she says.

She worked for the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Saskatchewan one summer, where she co-authored a research paper that delved into the complex realities of addiction recovery in urban settings, revealing the deep-seated challenges that existing policies often overlooked. “” was published in aboriginal policy studies, an online, peer-reviewed journal at the Faculty of Native Studies. 

Expanding her career

After earning her MPA, Callihoo returned to Ottawa to work with the where she learned how to support health-care systems on reserve. “It was a great experience,” she says. Within a couple of years, she was recruited by the National Indian Brotherhood (NIB) Trust Fund, now the .

In two transformative years, Callihoo spearheaded the organizational design and growth of the foundation as the foundation received $280 million, channelling resources into vital programs and scholarships across the country designed to heal the wounds of residential schools and empower Indigenous futures through education, culture and language. 

Callihoo recalls one man from Western Canada who received a scholarship to take a training program to become a crane operator. “We changed his life,” she says. “He went from making $30,000 a year to $90,000.” Another man from Saskatchewan wanted to learn from one of the elders about the horse dance, which hadn’t been practiced in his community for over 100 years. With the help of a cultural scholarship, they partnered with the community to bring the horse dance back. “That is exactly what I wanted to do with my life, to reach communities that way.”

A significant milestone in her journey was her appointment as assistant deputy minister for Indigenous education at the , a role where she championed the revitalization of Indigenous languages. This funding resulted in over 120 teaching resources in all 11 Indigenous languages in the province and successfully challenged the government policy to accept that each community owned these resources and could use them as they saw fit.

After some time as tribal administrator for the Alexander First Nation, Callihoo moved to — a professional services organization with 15,000+ employees — where she has been a senior manager, leading its three-year nationwide Indigenous talent strategy for the past two years. 

At Deloitte, Callihoo tackles the intricate challenge of bridging corporate and Indigenous cultures. She recognized, for instance, the inherent difference between the proactive 'coffee culture' of corporate networking and the more relational, mentorship-driven approach within Indigenous communities. “When you’re in community, a leader typically sees something in you, takes you under their wing and brings that knowledge to you. It challenges you to learn these things,” she says, emphasizing that corporate leaders need to understand this.

Some of the 30 initiatives Callihoo is leading to attract and retain Indigenous candidates include the introduction of cultural leave, a policy to reduce the risk of Indigenous identity fraud, and education on using CRA guidelines for tax exemption.

Looking to the future

While Callihoo loves her current position, she has two goals for the future: to get a PhD and to advance into increasingly complex and demanding roles. But she thinks she’ll wait until her son, who is five years old, is older before attempting either. 

“It doesn’t matter what I do or where I am, I will always put our people first and put our needs first,” says Callihoo. “At the end of the day, my career has always been about improving the lives of our people, wherever they reside, and that's what I've been working towards at every position  I've been in.”