This work sits at the intersection of story, policy, people, and place
I’m Todd Lyons, founder of Namekus, an Indigenous-owned practice providing consulting, cultural learning, and small facility project services.
For nearly 20 years, I worked in the Government of Canada across roles involving policy, privacy investigations, Indigenous engagement, change management, and storytelling. That experience taught me how complex public-sector work can become—and how important it is to make that work clear, practical, respectful, and useful to the people it affects.
What I learned inside government
Government is full of good intentions—and real constraints.
Policies are sound. Programs are funded. Commitments are made. But the work often gets stuck somewhere between:
- Strategy and implementation
- Language and understanding
- Intention and impact
- Planning and practical delivery
That’s the space I work in.
Selected experience includes:
- Indigenous Services Canada
- Treasury Board Secretariat
- Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
What I do now
Through Namekus, I help organizations move that work forward.
That may involve:
- Turning a reconciliation commitment into an actionable plan.
- Translating privacy requirements into plain language.
- Supporting Indigenous engagement and cultural learning.
- Supporting organizational change in a way that reflects people’s lived experience.
- Coordinating small renovations, repairs, and facility improvements.
The common thread is practical support: helping people understand what needs to happen, organizing the work, and moving it toward completion.
Small facility projects
Namekus also coordinates small facility projects for government, institutional, nonprofit, and community organizations.
Typical projects may include washroom renovations, accessibility improvements, platforms, ramps, interior repairs, finishing work, and other building improvements with project values of up to approximately $40,000 CAD.
My role may include understanding the client’s requirements, clarifying the scope, coordinating quotations, scheduling the work, communicating with the client and project partners, documenting progress, and organizing closeout.
Qualified construction and trade partners perform work requiring specialized skills, licences, certifications, or supervision. Depending on the project, I may also provide selected minor repairs, finishing work, punch-list items, or handyman services directly.
How I work
I’m not a large firm. I don’t bring a huge team of specialists.
What I bring is:
- Deep experience inside the federal system.
- The ability to work across policy, communications, operations, and practical delivery.
- A calm, thoughtful approach to complex and sensitive work
- Hands-on understanding of renovation planning and small facility improvements.
- A willingness to listen carefully, clarify the problem, and do the work required to move it forward.
I’m often brought in when:
- A file is stuck
- The message is not landing
- The work matters, but is not connecting
- A project needs better coordination.
- An organization needs a practical next step.
Why Namekus
“Namekus” reflects a way of working grounded in relationship, respect, and responsibility.
This work is shaped by my experience as a Swampy Cree person, and by years spent navigating systems that don’t always make space for Indigenous perspectives. That perspective isn’t separate from the work. It’s part of how the work gets done.
Beyond advisory
This work also extends into storytelling and cultural learning.
Through collaboration with Métis Jiggers, Namekus supports cultural engagement that brings context, meaning, and lived experience into organizational and community spaces.
Working together
If you’re working on something complex, sensitive, or stuck—this is the work I do.
Namekus is listed in the Indigenous Business Directory and is available for direct contracting, collaboration, and partnership opportunities.