b'INDIGENOUS STOREFRONTSbusinesses that looked like mine or people who looked like me in stores. So, every time someone walks throughOWNING THE NARRATIVEour doors and feels that sense of belonging? Thats a win. Thats howCreating a sense of connection, story and place is something Jennifer change starts. Taback has been helping Indigenous entrepreneurs build into their brands for decades. But visibility alone doesnt keep the lights on. You can trend on InstagramTaback, a member of Shawanaga First Nation and co-founder of the all day, Marie says, but that doesntIndigenous-led creative agency Design de Plume, stresses that storefronts pay your commercial lease or help youare about more than visibility. Theyre about sovereignty. bulk-order fabric. While shes proud of Awsis Boutiques loyal following,Having a physical location means Indigenous entrepreneurs are owning the she says scaling remains an uphillnarrative on their own terms, Taback explains. Theyre not filtered through climb. Most of us are bootstrapping.an algorithm. Theyre not waiting for permission. Theyre defining the Were creating national brands [on]customer experience from the ground up.kitchen tables.Rising rent, insurance costs, staffingFor Taback, this represents a long-overdue rebalancing. We deserve to be and security are all considerations, andseen in these spacesnot just on the margins, but in the centre of ourthe road to bricks and mortar is rarelyown stories. an entirely smooth one. Marie points to staffing and scaling as her biggestTaback adds that physical spaces give brands longevity in a way digital ongoing challenges, Its a differenttrends cant always match. Its about infrastructure. Its about legacy. And its ball game when you go from a kitchenabout visibility in the everyday spaces our people deserve to occupy.table to a physical store, she says. You have to trust people with yourFor more on Jennifer Taback and her creative agency Design de Plume, turn brand, your space, your customers.to pg. 52.What we need are long-term contracts, procurement pipelines, and policy shifts that reflect our valuesnot just our vibe.goods crafted by Indigenous artisansFor Cooper, the power of a storefront SCENT OF CULTURE from across Turtle Island. Being inisnt just visualits sensory. The first In Montral, Dale Cooper, a Cree entre- Montral means were visible to tour- thing people notice is the rich, smoky preneur from Waskaganish in Eeyouists, to students, to people who mightsmell of the moosehide, he says. It Istchee, runs Wachiya, a boutique thatnot otherwise encounter Indigenous specializes in handmade moccasins,businesses, he says. We become partconnects them to something real. Its mittens, jewelry and other culturalof their story too. cultural memory.WACHIYAIndigenous BUSINESS REPORT39'