It’s financial literacy, elder style.

IG Wealth Management and the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education unveiled Tuesday a financial literacy tool aimed at Indigenous youth.

Copies of the 200-plus-page book, titled Indigenous Peoples’ Money and Youth, dotted a coffee table in IG Wealth Management’s atrium during a news conference.

Joanne Mason, an elder from Peguis First Nation, took the podium nearby.

“I hope … that this new program … will empower our youth to take charge of their financial futures and chart a path to success,” Mason said from the downtown Winnipeg hub.

She joined a panel of roughly 17 reviewers, mainly Indigenous, overseeing the free resource’s development. It’s a spinoff of Money and Youth, a financial literacy guide IG and the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education launched in the 1990s.

The concepts are largely the same, but sacred teachings are incorporated, as are Indigenous-specific sections such as financial assistance for post-secondary education.

“The experiences that a young person in an Indigenous community faces are much different than those faced by others,” said Kevin Maynard, Canadian Foundation for Economic Education vice-president. “We wanted to highlight content that would be useful for those young people.”

Goal-setting, earning an income, borrowing money and investing are among the topics covered. Guides for teachers and caregivers are part of the resource.

Its development follows the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education’s new strategic plan to reach more Canadians.

Indigenous youth was a “key audience” the non-profit felt it could do more work with, Maynard said. He noted the increase in Indigenous youth — Indigenous people represented Canada’s youngest and fastest growing population in the country’s 2021 census — and the emphasis on economic reconciliation in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s calls to action.

The Toronto-based foundation then contacted IG, a decades-long partner on Money and Youth. That financial literacy guide is constantly updated; some 740,000 copies have circulated through Canadian schools and communities. High school students are the primary audience, though it also acts as a primer for adults.

IG agreed to the new resource.

“It’s a continuation of what we’re trying to build,” said Damon Murchison, IG Wealth Management president. “We want to see Indigenous youth really able to learn about finances, understand decisions (and) understand the things that they need to do to be successful.”

A spokesperson for IG didn’t specify how much money the company was spending on the initiative. It’s part of a multimillion-dollar commitment to help build financial empowerment in Indigenous communities across Canada, said Nini Krishnappa, IG Wealth Management vice-president of corporate communications.

Vanessa Everett, acting chief executive of the Keewatin Economic Development Corp., was tapped to co-create the resource.

“This has been a labour of love,” she said, adding it was a “challenging adaptation.”

Indigenous communities have very different experiences, making it hard to create a single book, Everett noted. She chose to interweave universal stories — like Turtle Island — with geographic-specific anecdotes.

Everett also parsed through the content to ensure it was relevant. “When some of our rural community members come to the city, they don’t even have a bank card. They don’t even have an ID,” she said.

Some Winnipeg-bound students entering university, for example, must learn to set up a bank account, use credit cards and pay rent.

Everett is most excited about a module highlighting entrepreneurship. It’s one of 15 modules in the book.

Five thousand copies are being printed for a 2025 pilot run. The Canadian Foundation for Economic Education aims to circulate copies in up to 250 classrooms next year, including schools on First Nations.

The foundation will evaluate users’ experiences and make improvements following the year-long trial, Maynard said.

IG and the foundation are looking to spread the resource through community networks and Indigenous-led organizations, Maynard explained. Indigenous Peoples’ Money and Youth will also be available on the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education’s website.