EDMONTON -- A Cree mom in Edmonton is drumming up business for herself and other entrepreneurs with a new company that delivers a curation of authentic Indigenous products directly to Canadians.
Mallory Yawnghwe recently created Indigenous Box, a quarterly subscription service that she and her family run out of their home in south Edmonton.
“There needs to be something out there that represents our people in a good way and really showcases some of the amazing stuff that people are doing out there in Indigenous ecommerce,” Yawnghwe said in an interview Wednesday.
Each box contains five to seven “fun and useful” products made by small Indigenous businesses.
The box she showed off Wednesday included a Kokum (grandmother) scarf, earrings, sweet grass bath products and a sweet grass candle.
“We source all of our products from Indigenous entrepreneurs and feature their products and themselves,” Yawnghwe said.
The boxes not only help support entrepreneurs like her, Yawnghwe said it’s becoming a great way for Canadians to find authentic, appropriate Indigenous products that they can feel comfortable buying and using.
When asked about inauthentic Indigenous products being sold in stores, Yawnghwe said it’s important that society moves away from that, so Indigenous people are able to tell their own stories and create an accurate reflection of their culture.
“There’s a huge awareness on cultural appreciation these days. And we’re moving away from people appropriating our culture and we’re moving into places of establishing ourselves as major players in commerce,” Yawnghwe explained.
Indigenous Box sold out its spring edition, but more information about upcoming subscriptions can be found online.
