Londoner Amanda Kennedy leaves behind legacy of leadership, mentorship and Indigenous pride

Described as kind and soft-spoken with a fearless pride and entrepreneurial spirit, Londoner Amanda Kennedy is being remembered by dignitaries, leaders and young people who say she leaves behind a legacy of helping people believe in themselves. 

Kennedy, of Oneida Nation of the Thames, died Nov. 4. She was 43. 

"She may have passed, but her legacy will live on in all of the people she impacted. Everything she did was for the future, for the children and the youth," said Sydney Kechego, from Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, whose spirit name is Misko Giizhik Kwe. 

Kechego was mentored by Kennedy and eventually worked at Yotuni Enterprise, the Indigenous-led social justice social enterprise that Kennedy started to help young people. 

"Amanda got my foot in the door. She created the ability for me to do what I'm doing now," Kechego said, who credits Kennedy's help with getting her work with the Standing Bear Leadership Program run by the Indigenous Sports Wellness Ontario, working with young people to develop new leaders. That early work gave her the insight and confidence to work with other Indigenous non-profits, she said.  

Kennedy was born in Oneida Nation of the Thames but relocated to London's Manor Park neighbourhood with her family when she was nine, where she experienced intergenerational trauma and racism. She used her painful experiences to start Yotuni, she previously told CBC News. 

Kennedy died in the same week as Indigenous storyteller and Seneca Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy elder Dan Smoke and Senator Murray Sinclair. 

That work led her to young people such as Tia Kennedy, whose family is from both Oneida Nation of the Thames and Walpole Island First Nation. 

"When I met her I was just getting out of partying and trying to find my footing in the world. I didn't know what to do with my life," Tia Kennedy said. "She told me, 'If you like helping people, you should come work with us at Yotuni.' That changed the trajectory of my life." 

Tia Kennedy graduated high school, got an undergraduate degree, and is now working toward a masters degree at McMaster University. "She mentored me, told me to speak my truth, to be a leader. I still work with youth, trying to empower others, and that's because of the values she instilled in me." 

Amanda Kennedy made sure the young people who worked with her were connected to their Indigenous culture, something that isn't always easy when living in urban areas, Tia Kennedy said. "She thought of laughter as a source of medicine. She was fierce and kind and showed us that her vulnerability was her strength. She made sure you had lots of opportunities to grow." 

Female leadership legacy

In 2021, Kennedy was named a YMCA Women of Excellence award winner, the inaugural honoree in a category for those who break barriers. She also ran another social enterprise, Kuwahs^nahawi Enterprises, which focused on education and consulting with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. 

Female leaders such as former Chippewas of the Thames Chief Leslee White-Eye and former Oneida Nation of the Thames Chief Sheri Doxtator praised Kennedy's work in the community. 

"She wanted to see leadership be drawn from her fellow members of Oneida and from the Chippewa-Munsee-Oneida community," White-Eye said. "Our communities have seen the young leaders she touched now doing leadership in their own communities. 

Kennedy focused on people who didn't have support or connection to their communities, said Doxtator. "She taught me how to look at the world in service of others," she said.

"Her legacy of giving will live on. She gave for the sake of giving, without the expectation of getting back."