Tuesday, June 21st is Indigenous Day here in Canada, and we're taking a moment to recognize the Indigenous brands making waves in recreational cannabis.
Your Purchase Supports Indigenous Business
You may already be familiar with some fantastic Indigenous-owned producers already, including Costa Canna, Msiku, and others, but did you know that purchasing these producers and Indigenous-owned retailers is also a tangible act towards economic reconciliation? You can read more about how each producer below is creating financial empowerment for Indigenous persons and communities.
MSIKU Licensed Cannabis Producer
The name 'Msiku' is the Mi’kmaw word for grass. Humour is very important in Mi’kmaq culture. We are sure that you will see and appreciate how this tongue-in-cheek name reflects that humour! – Msiku website |
Msiku (MM-SEE-GOO) is a cannabis brand produced by AtlantiCann Medical, a Health Canada licensed producer that is majority-owned by the Mi’kmaq First Nations of Nova Scotia. The brand celebrates the heritage of the Mi’kmaq people and pride in the East Coast. Msiku cannabis is grown indoors with care and hand trimmed to produce terpene-rich, craft-quality products. Keep your eyes peeled for their zesty, citrus-forward Frozen Lemons pre-rolls.
Their Instagram page is packed full of links for folks to support Indigenous communities across Canada.
Twitter: @msikuofficial Instagram: @msiku.official
COSTA CANNA Licensed Cannabis Producer & Retailer
Costa Canna is owned by Cowichan Tribes, the largest single First Nation band in British Columbia. They started out as a single retail location in Vancouver Island in 2019 and now have four booming retail cannabis stores.
Costa Canna has recently branched out into cultivation as well. Cowichan Tribes entered into a one-year agreement with the province of British Columbia in 2021, allowing it to both grow and sell cannabis. As a producer, they now have a high-THC offering, Liberty Haze, available in 7g quantities. Cowichan Tribes hope that these opportunities in cannabis could help change the whole economic framework of their nation. Costa Canna is working to build stronger and healthier communities through economic development in the cannabis space.
Twitter: @costa_canna
Instagram: @costacanna.ca
RED MARKET BRAND
Licensed Cannabis Producer ("Partner Platform")
In Canada, we often refer to the illicit market as a “grey market,” alluding to the hazy regulations prior to federal legalization. In Indigenous communities, these unregulated businesses and products are referred to as the “red market.” The goal of Red Market Brands is to help bring the red market into the regulated sphere. Their team is passionate about creating a platform so that Indigenous people can take their place in the regulated industry.
The company launched on National Indigenous Peoples Day in 2021 and brought its first cannabis products to market in October. Co-founders Isadore Day and Christian Sinclair have pledged to give 25% of their individual profits back to their communities.
“[Cannabis] has the opportunity to enhance reconciliation, not as a mind-altering chemical, but rather a tool for economic development. An instrument for a cycle of ongoing sustainable revenues back to our communities. This company in the mainstream market is going to be vital. Being a part of the regulated cannabis market allows us to bring revenue-sharing back to our communities and support grassroots development.” -Isadore Day, CEO and co-founder |
Twitter: @redmarketbrand
Instagram: @red.market.brand
KANA LEAF Licensed Cannabis Retailer
Kana Leaf was the first Indigenous-owned cannabis shop to receive a retail store authorization on a First Nation reserve in Ontario. They're a family-owned and operated retail location, offering a full range of cannabis products, from flower to concentrates, in Nipissing First Nation.
The retail store serves three First Nation communities, providing simple and safe access to cannabis as well as providing employment opportunity for nearby residents. Since their conception in 2020, Kana Leaf worked closely with the community’s leadership council to create the locally established Nipissing First Nation Cannabis Act and continues to work to destigmatize cannabis products and their consumption.
Instagram: @kanaleafcannabisnb
PINEAPPLE BUDS
Licensed Cannabis Producer
Pineapple Buds is an Indigenous-affiliated, women-led company located in the Okanagan Valley. Founded by Kyra Horvath, master grower and COO, along with Laine Keyes as CEO, the micro-cultivator is small but mighty. The pair take pride in their custom genetics and have an array of pineapple cultivars that they have developed over the years.
Pineapple Buds went from barn beginnings to a custom-built hydroponics facility in the town of Oliver, British Columbia. The Pineapple Buds team credits the Indigenous Navigator Service through Health Canada for assistance getting their license.
Keyes says he got his drive for business from the heritage of his family’s past and wanting to secure it for future generations.
“To Pineapple Buds, truth and reconciliation mean supporting the reclamation of identity, language, and culture,” they wrote in a statement. “We are here to listen and learn about experiences, challenges and traditions that one may have had and encourage progression for the future.” - Laine Keyes, CEO |
Twitter: @BudsPineapple
Instagram: @pineapplebuds_
FN CANNABIS CO.
Licensed Cannabis Retailer
FN Cannabis Co. was awarded one of only 51 permits granted in the province of Saskatchewan, out of approximately 1500 applications to open a retail cannabis store. When they opened their doors in April of 2020, they became the first legal cannabis retailer in Nipawin. FN Canna Co. is fully owned by three treaty six nations: Sweetgrass First Nation, Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation, and Moosomin First Nation.
FN Cannabis Co. sells a full range of regulated cannabis products, from edibles to pre-rolls. One of their goals is to make buying weed easy, safe, and reliable in their community.
Instagram: @fncannaco
We recognize FivePoint Cannabis is located in the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy) and the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta.
This Indigenous People's day, we're showcasing Indigenous-led cannabis products, collecting donations, and donating a portion of our profits to a local Indigenous charity. From 2pm to 9pm in the gallery, we will be donating 10% from our indigenous brands to the Metis Calgary Family Services, a non-profit, charitable Aboriginal organization that provides responsive, community-based, services which are culturally specific for our urban aboriginal community that services over 100 residential school survivors living in Calgary.
Join us on June 21st as we celebrate Indigenous cannabis, culture, and prosperity, as well as the ever-changing cultural landscape of Canada. We support indigenous brands at FivePoint and we hope you enjoy some of the best flower on the market while gaining an understanding of the sense of community within the cannabis industry, and the prosperity it yields.
See you in the Gallery where you can browse Indigenous-led brands and more! You can also find all of our Indigenous-led cannabis products featured on the homepage of our online menu.