Amanda Bernard: Helping Small Indigenous Businesses Thrive across Turtle Island
Amanda: Thanks for having me, Spiffy! Shawish Market is a virtual Indigenous marketplace where Indigenous artists and entrepreneurs can create their own shop and upload their own unique items. Unlike other marketplaces, Shawish does not charge monthly or transaction fees, making it affordable for Indigenous communities, especially those who have faced so many barriers such as loss of land, loss of identity, discrimination, and colonization. Also, at Shawish we aim to address the issue of cultural appropriation, as many companies profit from Indigenous-inspired work, often at the expense of local artists. To tackle this problem, Shawish verifies each vendor, ensuring that every purchase made through our website directly benefits Indigenous communities.