Local company creates hand sanitizer scents honouring Indigenous culture
A local business is dedicated to making hand sanitizer that smells great, is safe to use and also represents Indigenous culture.
Kanatan Health Solutions was started in Saddle Lake Cree Nation during the pandemic after hand sanitizer was being faced with a lot of resistance by the Indigenous community.
Marketing and Sales Director Tasha Power says the smell of generic hand sanitizer was a deterrent for many in the community, and triggering for those struggling with alcoholism.
“That really turned off a lot of our people, they do not want to smell like they just came from a party,” said Power.
“We wanted to come up with a solution that smells great and is Health Canada approved.”
They created hand sanitizer in a variety of smells including traditional smudging scents like sweet grass, cedar, sage and sweet tobacco.
“These do not contain actual smudges but the scents are exactly like those smudges. They’re going to trigger those beautiful memories of when you last smudged with those specific scents.”
The hand sanitizer also comes in berry scents and wild mint.
Power said it was very important to the company to make safe products with minimal ingredients that people would want to use daily.
“You can read the bottle and you can pronounce what that [ingredient] is because we’re putting it on our body and especially on our skin we want to make sure it’s safe and it’s healthy and it’s going to help.”
Along with hand sanitizer, the company sells lotions, mask accessories and masks with Indigenous designs, in cloth and disposable.
PPE available through Kanatan Health Solutions. June 16, 2021. (John Hanson/CTV News Edmonton)
“We really want to share our culture, we want to share the really beautiful smells that we have with our sacred forest smudge scents and the really beautiful art on our masks,” said Power. “We want to share that with all cultures, not just First Nations.”
As a way to encourage vaccine uptake, Powers says anyone that shows proof of their first or second dose of COVID-19 vaccine can get two disposable masks and a 100 ml hand sanitizer for free with a $15 purchase.
Orders can be placed online and can be delivered locally, picked up at their distribution centre in Edmonton, or can be shipped through Canada Post.
Kanatan Health Solutions has sent products to 45 different First Nations communities across North America since the company started in July 2020.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Rainfall warnings of up to 80 mm among weather alerts in effect for 6 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres and other alerts have been issued for six Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Bus plunges off a bridge in South Africa, killing 45 people. An 8-year-old child is only survivor
A bus carrying worshippers headed to an Easter festival plunged off a bridge on a mountain pass and burst into flames in South Africa on Thursday, killing at least 45 people, authorities said.
Calgary bridges remain closed due to ongoing police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.