INDIGENOUS OWNED CANADIAN BUSINESSES
This will be this years final blog post in my series showcasing small Canadian businesses to shop from for the holidays, and beyond. If you didn’t read the other two, you can find the first one here and the second one here. This third post is going to outline Indigenous small Canadian businesses I found this year. Like I had pointed out in my Black Owned Canadian Business post, I’ve never actively looked or tried to shop from Indigenous owned businesses in Canada. Am I embarrassed by this? Absolutely. There’s no excuse to why I never thought to do this, and 2020 has been a huge year of reflecting and changing how I want to engage and support BIPOC businesses.
HOME DÉCOR
All Images from Land of Daughters Instagram
This is a Metis female run business, mostly famous for their candles. The names of their scents are creative and sweet, like the Just Because a Candle, Girl Gang, Let’s Stay Home. They also have a candle specific for lighting in honour of a passed loved one, something my mum has always done. The name of this candle is A Light Remains and even that name makes me emotional. What I love about this online shop is they have a scent sampler kit, because duh it’s hard to smell what scent candle you like through a computer screen. You can buy their scent sampler for just $8 and find out what scent you love most and purchase the larger candle in that scent. Such a great idea! They also create aroma sprays, currently all sold out so you know they’re a must have and solid perfume sticks in some of the same scents as their candles. All their perfumes are vegan and cruelty free, as well as phthalate and petroleum free, great item to throw in a stocking for Christmas. They also create and sell wax rings, which I didn’t even know what that was and now totally need. It’s basically to freshen up your closet or dresser drawers. I don’t know why, but our dresser wood can sometimes make clothes not worn very often smell stale. I always throw in a dryer sheet, but that only lasts like a week. I am definitely buying a wax ring now that I know this is a thing! You could put an entire cute little housewarming gift set together from this one business, never mind just shopping holiday gifts.
FOOD & DRINK
All images from Spirit Bear Coffee Company’s Instagram
Fair Trade Certified & Certified Organic coffee in a variety of flavours. They even sell 100% compostable coffee pods in their medium and dark roast coffee blends for Keurig. If buying for someone and aren’t sure what flavour they’d like, Spirit Bear also sells a sampler pack, which would be a great option to slip into the coffee lover’s Christmas stocking. If the person in your life is already a lover of Spirit Bear Coffee, they also sell merchandise: hats, tshirts, hoodies, even a really cozy looking bathrobe! They are also very environmentally conscious and affiliate sales with quite a few different organizations benefiting wildlife, conservation foundations and research, empowering the youth of Indigenous communities and another organization that protects an Aboriginal community in Winnipeg. My shift as a consumer in the last few years is to support businesses that one, are trying to lessen their carbon footprint, and two that give back. Spirit Bear is a company that is doing both, which is very admirable.
BEAUTY & SKINCARE
All images from Skwalwen Botanicals Instagram
A small batch organic skin care company. They use wild sustainable harvested plants to create their products and each product has a Squamish name as a way to represent and honour the traditional plant knowledge used to create them. Again, price point is the same and sometimes less than most big brand skincare items. On this online shop you are going to find toners, face masques, holiday bundle packages of products, bath salts, bath and body oils, healing salves, lip balms, bar soaps, specific salve for healing aching muscles, facial serums, room aroma sprays, and everyone’s must have item for 202, HAND SANATIZER! Those are just some of the products you’re going to find on their shop, you gotta love a one stop shop for ticking multiple people off on that gift list!
All images from Sisters Sage Instagram
Two sisters whose heritage is Gitxaala, Nisga’a and Metis and started this company selling handcrafted wellness and self-care products. They of course use traditional Indigenous ingredients to create their products. On their online shop you are going to find a variety of items, so again another great shop for buying gifts for multiple people on you list or filling up someone’s entire Christmas stocking. They have really fun bar soaps, actually probably a great way of getting your little one’s to wash their hands because the soaps are super colourful, a variety of bath bombs to choose from, a few different salves and smokeless smudge and cedar smudge sprays, as well as a lavender spray. Not sure where to start for a holiday gift? The good, and super convenient, news is they have a Holiday gift set for purchase with items already chosen for you. Easy peasy shopping from the comfort of your couch! A literal Christmas dream am I right?
All images from Cheekbone Beauty Instagram
An online cruelty-free high quality cosmetic shop, that also launched a less-waste line of lipsticks this year and plans to be completely waste free come 2023! You are going to find an array of absolutely stunning coloured lipsticks, liquid lipsticks and lips glosses. You also have the option of buying bundled lip packages, they even have an entire holiday lip collection or a holiday lip and palette collection. Um, hi, a GOLD GLITTER lippy. I never knew that was something I needed in my life until right now. As I mentioned they also sell a face palette and a gel eyebrow brush.
JEWELRY
All images from Mad Aunty Instagram
Laser cut acrylic earrings and necklaces with handwritten Cree words/statements cut in them as the design. She also has some really great retro type pieces in neon pinks and greens. Everything is shop online and the company just released a copper collection at the end of last month, and most of the items are already sold out. So you aren’t going to want to sit on a purchase or buying as a gift, the items are popular and you snooze you’re going to lose!
All images from Warren Steven Scott Instagram
Modern fun statement earrings. There are more subdued everyday earrings available in more neutral colours, but then there are big bold colours and even some neon pieces. I personally love a colourful earring, as I find it’s such an easy way to upgrade a more minimalist outfit. This is a higher price point, but these items are luxury fashion versus a cheaply made costume jewelry you can buy from Claire’s and the colour ends up rubbing off in 6 months.
APPAREL
All images from Her Braids Instagram
A company that donates 10% of the proceeds of every single item they sell towards ensuring First Nation’s communities have clean drinking water. You know, something we all take for granted in our White little bubbles and don’t bother to see that so many of our fellow citizens don’t have that. The woman behind Her Braids, is Sunshine Quem Tenasco and she is Anishinabe. This cause is very close to home, literally not the metaphor, as where she lives has not had clean drinking water for 15 years. Her Braids has numerous t-shirts, crop tops, tank tops and crewnecks with water and human rights slogans printed on them. All items are unisex and they also have youth sizes and even little baby onesies. The second product sold on this online shop are the most beautifully handmade beaded pendant necklaces. A lot of the necklaces are sold out, so this is another don’t sit and wait on buying because they are clearly popular and don’t last long for purchasing.
All images from Manitobah Mukluks Instagram
Traditional native winter boots, better known as Mukluks. They sell styles for women, men and children. Along with the Mukluks, this online shop makes and sells traditional Moccasins for both indoor and outdoor wear. I could so use an indoor pair. Since having my daughter, actually during my pregnancy, standing on hard floor makes my heels hurt so bad, and then it moves up into my hips. Any other mom experience that? Besides footwear they also sell gloves and mittens, tote and shoulder bags and change or wrist purses for women. They also have a collection called Storyboots, which is Mukluks, Moccasins and other traditional accessories created by community elders and up and coming community artisans. It’s a “collaboration” to revive the traditional arts, and every item sold from the Storybook collection the entire proceeds of that sale goes directly to the artist who created it.
All images from Kokom Scrunchies Instagram
Homemade scrunchies by an ever so talented 9 year old, Mya! She has created a variety of super affordable colourful scrunchies. How can you not support a 9 year old girl with her OWN company, what an amazing accomplishment! You’ll also find some adorable stickers on the shop and scarves, that you can even match with one of your scrunchies.
BOOKS & STATIONARY
All images from Massy Books Instagram
An Indigenous owned and operated bookstore, with both a storefront location in Vancouver and an online shop. I actually bought some books for my niece here. The online store is SO easy to navigate and their selection is HUGE. If you can’t find a specific book, they’re pretty good at ordering specifically for you to pick up if you live in Vancouver or to deliver. Their prices are the same as any big corporate book store so no reason to not shop here.
ONE STOP SHOP
All images from Beaded Dreams Instagram
Both a storefront location in Ottawa and online shop selling handmade arts and crafts from numerous Indigenous artisans. You’re going to find everything but the kitchen sink on this online shop, smudge items, dreamcatchers, stunning Native artwork mugs, baby clothing and accessories, gorgeous handmade blankets, wallets for both men and women, purses, umbrellas, a huge apparel and accessory category, spiritual crystals and tumble stones, stationary, maps, books, For the craft lover on your list they even have multiple categories of craft supplies to purchase from their store. Great place to browse and shop from the comfort of your couch!
I am disappointed this list is smaller than the other two, and I’m really making it a goal to find more Indigenous businesses to support in the coming years. I believe as consumers, well I know for me it’s to be true, we just get lazy in that we shop at the same stores. Why? What are the common excuses for that? “It’s convenient” or “It’s affordable”. Well in all the research and Googling I’ve done on Indigenous Canadian businesses (as well as small Canadian and Black Owned Canadian businesses) I found all the websites to be incredibly easy and convenient to shop at. Just like any of your brandname big corporate websites. I actually prefer the small businesses because they aren’t overwhelming and oversaturated with product choices. Yes, some of the businesses included may be pricer than your usual shopping experience, but those one’s were luxury products. Think what you’d normally spend on a brand name luxury product. I bet the same, if not more. We need to seriously get out of our bad consumer habits and start putting our money towards our own community and our own country. With that being said, if you know of an Indigenous Canadian business to support please link them in the comments section.
Once again, happy shopping Canadians!