Indigenous women entrepreneurs across Canada are transforming ancestral duties, community teachings, and lived experience into effective leadership techniques. They are starting businesses in a variety of industries, including technology, aviation, wellness, consultancy, and fashion, while incorporating languages, land-based values, and community responsibilities into every choice they make.
Indigenous women now make up a larger percentage of Canadian business owners than non-Indigenous women, according to research, and their companies are more likely to employ Indigenous employees and make community investments. However, each statistic has a backstory. The strength of community support, the burden of structural obstacles, and the steadfast conviction that commerce can be a weapon for cultural survival and societal success are recurrent themes that surface when you sit down with these trailblazers.
“We Build So Our Communities Can Breathe” – Teara Fraser
Teara Fraser was building bridges among communities, opportunity, and the earth when she established Iskweʻw Air. Fraser, the first Indigenous woman to own and run an airline in Canada, frequently discusses how her leadership style is influenced by her Métis identity and community duties. Fraser highlights in discussions about entrepreneurship that her company is both a symbolic act of reclamation and a useful service. Indigenous values of partnership, accountability, and respect for land become central to the aviation industry, which has previously been dominated by non-Indigenous men. Her description of leadership as “keeping doors open” and “flying in formation” with others reflects her background in aviation as well as her clearly communal outlook.
Fraser also emphasizes the importance of mentorship and networks. She attributes the amplification of her voice and the expansion of opportunities for Indigenous women in business to Indigenous women’s circles, sector mentors, and national platforms such as the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) and Indigenous-focused pitch and award programs.
“Every time our plane takes off, I’m reminded that our communities deserve to move freely—to learn, to trade, to visit, to heal.”
“Beauty Is a Promise to the Next Generation” – Jenn Harper
The creator and CEO of Cheekbone Beauty, Jenn Harper, is an Anishinaabe entrepreneur. She started the company with a desire and a question: how could she create something that disrupted the congested cosmetics sector while honouring Indigenous youth and the environment? Harper frequently discusses in interviews how her company’s aim is linked to representation and responsibility—putting Indigenous faces, stories, and innovations at the heart of beauty while making sure that goods and packaging preserve the land that will be passed down to future generations.
Harper’s view that profit must align with purpose is reflected in Cheekbone Beauty’s well-known efforts, such as its sustainable packaging choices and donations to Indigenous youth and education programs. She talks openly about the difficulties of seeking funding as an Indigenous woman founder and the emotional work of aligning with community expectations at every product launch and pitch meeting. Harper often revisits the subject of visibility. For her, witnessing Indigenous youth interact with the brand in mainstream stores affirms that leadership is about more than titles; it’s about building roads and mirrors.
She advises aspiring business owners to be rooted in culture, seek mentors, and keep in mind that every business choice is an opportunity to demonstrate a different kind of engagement with people and the environment.
“Our communities deserved to see themselves on the shelf—and to know that those products were made with them and the Earth in mind.”
“Data, Dollars, and Dignity” – Tabatha Bull
As President and CEO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB), Anishinaabe leader Tabatha Bull spends her days in boardrooms, policy tables, and corporate strategy sessions—spaces where data and dollars sometimes overwhelm people and land. However, Bull constantly returns the emphasis to accountability, decency, and reconciliation in action while discussing leadership.
Building an inclusive Indigenous economy and pressuring governments and companies to shift from declarations to structural transformation are the main goals of Bull’s work. She sits on several boards and was named CEO of the Year by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, although she frequently presents these accomplishments as a means of achieving greater community influence rather than personal recognition. She emphasizes the importance of mentorship, sponsorship, and culturally safe workplaces in panels on Indigenous women in business to guarantee that the voices of Indigenous women are heard and taken seriously in executive settings.
Bull also emphasizes the crucial role of Indigenous-led success indicators. According to her, being a leader entails determining who gains, who is at risk, and whether actions are reducing or increasing disparities for Indigenous communities. These questions, she notes, come directly from community conversations, Elders’ teachings, and the lived experiences of Indigenous women navigating the economy.
Conversation as a Leadership Practice
These trailblazers are united by a common dedication to dialogue—as a practice, not a performance—rather than by a particular industry or leadership model. Peer mentorship, intergenerational education, and community dialogue are essential business tools, not optional extras, according to Fraser, Harper, Bull, and numerous other Indigenous women CEOs. Their tales serve as a reminder that discussions at the dinner table, in community halls, and at land-based meetings are the foundation of boardroom choices. As more Indigenous women take the lead, they are not abandoning their communities; rather, they are carrying those voices with them and transforming Canadian business from the inside out.
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Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available information intended only for informational purposes. Indigenous-SME Business Magazine does not endorse or guarantee any products or services mentioned. Readers are advised to conduct their research and due diligence before making business decisions.
