Shoppers flocked to the ADAAWE Indigenous Business Hub’s third annual holiday market in Centretown as the festive season approaches.
Held at ADAAWE’s community space on Nov. 23, the event featured dozens of Indigenous entrepreneurs selling traditional art, clothing and food for the holidays. For many of the vendors, the market was not just another business opportunity, but also a chance to share their culture.
ADAAWE began operation in October 2022 as a collaborative space for Indigenous entrepreneurs. The Algonquin Anishinaabe term “adaawe” means “to trade,” which signifies the organization’s belief that business brings people together, ADAAWE manager Magnolia Perron said.
Perron said the idea for a holiday market came from one of its members not long after the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association launched the hub.
“The idea behind the market was to give Indigenous entrepreneurs a platform to sell and promote their products,” Perron said.
Perron said she hopes the hub will continue to grow to assist more Indigenous entrepreneurs, and eventually serve as a nationwide example. She said ADAAWE’s membership numbers have ballooned from 20 to more than 300 in just over two years of operation.
“The broader vision for ADAAWE is to be a model for future Indigenous business hubs across the country,” Perron said.
Vendor Alicia Asp-Chief beaded ornaments and sold winter-themed treats for the event. Asp-Chief said the holidays represent a melting pot of Indigenous culture and the Christmas spirit.
“I’m very big on Christmas and I wanted to find a way to indigenize it and then incorporate my culture into it,” Asp-Chief said.
ADAAWE’s cozy brick building had holiday-themed booths in every corner of its tight first-floor space. Vendor Kyle Estrada said the market attracted many Indigenous community members and curious shoppers looking to get a head start on their holiday gift buying.
“It’s been pretty busy most of the day, especially in the morning. People are coming in to get gifts, especially early gifts because near Christmas it’s harder to find new gifts,” Estrada said.
Asp-Chief said she is grateful to the hub for bringing Indigenous entrepreneurs together to ring in the festive spirit.
“There’s really not that many places you can go around and go to vendors and actually get all these incredible gift ideas,” Asp-Chief said. “I know I’m definitely going to do a lot of shopping before I leave here today.”
Featured Image by Michael McBean/the Charlatan.
