Wade Cachagee

Wade Cachagee

Youth (1998)

Wade R. Cachagee’s accomplishments would be impressive for a man twice his age. This 24-year-old from the Chapleau Cree First Nation has been recognized nationally for using modern technology to enhance and promote Aboriginal land use. The winner of the 1996 Anishnawbe-Aski Nation’s Youth Entrepreneur Award, Mr. Cachagee established CREE-TECH Inc. with a partner when he was just 21. This company uses Geographical Information Systems’ (GIS) technology to provide highly-detailed computer-generated data and analysis about land usage. He graduated from Algonquin College with a GIS Technician Diploma, and studied Electrician, Construction and Maintenance at Mohawk College, as well as GIS on Aboriginal Lands Management at the Banff Centre for Management. CREE-TECH’S clients include forestry companies, First Nations tribal organizations, and the Ontario government, and he’s been a guest speaker on GIS throughout Canada. But what really drives him is that his company provides a much-needed service for Aboriginal people. CREE-TECH can produce a “traditional values inventory,” which maps out traditional wild rice, trapping, fishing and hunting areas, plus praying, pictograph and burial sites, and eagle nest locations. He continues to educate Aboriginal people on GIS technology and its importance to Aboriginal land use. And by employing his computer skills, he’s created an interactive CD-ROM, CreeVIEW 1.0.