b'COVER STORYremain a barrier to lifting these advi- This commodification not only detractsThere is plenty of room for improve-sories, given that a large treatmentfrom authentic Indigenous brands,ment when it comes to Indigenous system can take up to four years tobut also leads to a misrepresenta- representationintheCanadian complete. Marsolais-Nahwegahbowstion of both historical and contem- retailfoodmarket,butstepsare vision for a clean drinking water solu- porary Indigenous products. While notbeing taken in the right direction. tion involves providing in-home watera traditional drink of the IndigenousLoblaws has a dedicated section on purification systems to these commu- people of Canada, Birch Bark Coffeeits public webpage for commitments nities, one house at a time.provides an opportunity to showto Indigenous peoples and to Truth that Indigenous people can succeedandReconciliation,whileSobeys, Its not just the ends that are impor- outside of the stereotypical brandsaccording to their 2023 Sustainability tant, but the means matter just as much.and products. Report,isworkingtowardstheir Marsolais-Nahwegahbow developed what he calls an Indigenous Inclusion Continuum business model to create ethical prosperity for everyone involved in the business. This starts right at the source: Birch Bark Coffee purchases their beans from ethical growers and is part of the Small Producers Symbol certification system for sustainable production. Membership to this invite-only program reflects a commitment to ethical business practices from the start. As well, Marsolais-Nahwegahbow works with a non-profit organization called The Flower Cart Group for Birch Barks packaging. Flower Cart helps people with intellectual disabilities to achieve meaningful employment. Birch Bark Coffees business model ensures that the social impact is maxi-mized in as many ways as possible. Its a full rounded business model where everybody is going to win. Thats the way I saw the social enterprise, Marsolais-Nahwegahbow says.REPRESENTATION Not all retailers are knocking on Birch Barks door, and it can be an uphill struggle to get the products stocked on mainstream store shelves, Marsolais-Nahwegahbow says. Im an underdog, he points out. [But] were trying to get our products into stores and asking for an opportunity to be on the same playing field.Getting Indigenous brands into super-markets remains a challenge. Adding an extra layer to that challenge is the longstanding commodification of Indigenous foods by non-Indig-enousbusinesses.Theexploita-tionofIndigenousiconography, symbols and images that perpet-uate harmful stereotypes is just now being addressed. Aboriginal BUSINESS REPORT 17'