'It's almost like putting up a flag': Family business showcasing culture and history through handmade Indigenous products
An Indigenous family is sharing their culture and heritage through their business, as a way to honour their ancestors.
For the Belanger family it felt like a full circle moment, items they grew up with are now helping sustain their family.
Corinne Stevens-Belanger considered her grandma an entrepreneur since she made and sold birch wood baskets to support her family.
“My grandma taught us how to live and thrive off the land, how it could sustain us,” she said.
Years later, Corinne was inspired to follow in her grandmother’s footsteps. She picked up basket making while she was a stay-at-home mom.
"It came back to me and I ended up really enjoying it,” she said.
Eventually her hobby turned into a business.
“I remember being astounded,” she said. “I mean I get to be paid to do what I love, like this is amazing to me.”
She named her business Cree Star Gifts in honour of her grandmother, a Cree woman who always put a star on her baskets. The star is a trademark Corinne has continued.
The business deals in gifts because it’s a long-standing tradition in Indigenous culture to give a gift to someone who hits a milestone, according to Corinne.
Her husband John Belanger saw her passion and decided to pursue an ambition of his own. He quit his job and taught himself to make teepees.
“I had to make the choice and follow what’s inside, I just started, it was tough the first year,” he said.
At first, he would sew the fabric in his dining room, then he would take it out to his backyard to cut and measure, and then would bring it back inside to add the final touches. Finally he would fold it outside and ship it off.
“It was a lot of work,” he said.
However, it was work with a reward according to Belanger.
“It’s almost like putting up a flag. Our generation never saw one in their community,” he said.
“It was amazing to teach it and be a part of it.”
The couple continued to inspire each other. Corinne was amazed her husband mastered a new skill, so she wanted to try something new herself.
She started sewing star blankets. Star blankets replaced the buffalo robe, a reward for bravery and success.
“It was really hard but I’m just stubborn. When I set my mind to something I have to succeed,” she said.
Over time, the business grew and they were able to expand their space leasing a building in Swan River, Man. and hire staff.
The star blankets are made in the basement, the teepees are made in the largest room on the main floor, and there is a model teepee on the third floor.
The couple also displays products in their store front made by other Indigenous entrepreneurs.
“These are hard working people that love what they do,” Corinne said.
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.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
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.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
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.
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.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
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.