F
or Michelle Cameron, entre-
preneurship didn’t begin with 
a business plan, a bank loan, 
or even a dream of becoming 
a CEO. It began with a bag of 
ketchup chips.
Growing up in Winnipeg as a member 
of Peguis First Nation, Cameron 
watched her mother do what so many 
Indigenous women have done for 
generations: work tirelessly to provide 
for her family. She juggled jobs, raised 
her children with determination and 
sacrifice, and somehow managed to 
make ends meet despite having almost 
nothing left for herself.
At the end of every pay period, Cameron 
remembers there would often be just a 
single dollar remaining. “She worked 
two jobs, she provided, she took care 
of us,” she recalls. “But at the end of 
two weeks, she’d only have a dollar left. 
And that one dollar bought a big bag 
of ketchup chips. For me, that was it. 
There had to be more to life than that.”
That realization, formed in the heart of 
a child, became the foundation of what 
would grow into one of Canada’s most 
successful Indigenous-owned business 
enterprises. Today, Cameron is the 
founder and owner of Dreamcatcher 
Promotions, Indigenous Nations 
Apparel Company, and Dreamcatcher 
FROM KETCHUP 
CHIPS TO A 
BUSINESS EMPIRE
H ow  M i ch e l l e  C a m e ro n  b u i l t  a n 
I n d i g e n o u s  b u s i n e s s  l e g a c y
By Maurice Valmore
Executive Offices. Her three compa-
nies collectively employ more than 
50 people and operate out of a 
33,000-square-foot production facility 
in Winnipeg. But the journey to get 
there was anything but straightforward.
Long before she became a nationally 
recognized entrepreneur, Cameron 
was a 12-year-old girl trying to help her 
mother make ends meet. Because her 
mother worked constantly, Cameron 
learned to cook at an early age. By the 
time she was in her early teens, she 
was preparing full meals for the family 
while also caring for her younger sister. 
Believing she could contribute finan-
cially, she launched her first business 
venture when she was just a tween: a 
homemade cookie company.
Her mother, despite having little 
money to spare, purchased all the 
supplies Cameron needed. For a month, 
Cameron baked cookies while her 
mother sold them at work, returning 
home each day with a small brown bag 
filled with cash.
The young entrepreneur believed she 
had discovered the secret to success — 
until, that is, her mother explained the 
concept of paying back suppliers. “I 
realized that by the time we factored in 
all the supplies and what I sold, I really 
wasn’t making any money,” Cameron 
42 A CCIB PUBLICATION  Fall 2026
CEO SPOTLIGHT
Michelle Cameron's successful business operates out of a massive 33,000-square-foot production facility in Winnipeg

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