Indigenous influencers aren't only creators posting from home. These 10 Indigenous-led brands prove founders can be their own most effective influencers, building genuine, lasting trust through fashion, beauty, food, wellness, and art ahead of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Indigenous influencers like Shina Nova, Autumn Peltier, and Notorious Cree are proof that social media can be a powerful tool for education, advocacy, and community building. But influence online doesn’t always look like a creator account.
For these Indigenous-led brands, influence comes from the product itself, the people behind it, and the story they choose to tell. Read on to discover the brands we at TIA think are worth following, supporting, and learning from ahead of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
1. Lesley Hampton | @lesley_hampton
- Category: Fashion
- Nation-Origin: Anishinaabe, Temagami First Nation, Toronto, ON
Lesley Hampton is an Anishinaabe designer known for her size-inclusive, body-neutral clothing. Her designs have dressed Lizzo and Nelly Furtado (which, slay). Her work often draws on the silhouettes and symbolism of Indigenous regalia and seeks to decolonize the Eurocentric standards that prevail in the fashion industry.
What they do well: In a way, Lesley is one of Toronto’s most successful Indigenous influencers. Her personal brand and her label share the same voice (and name), so followers trust the label as they'd trust a person.
Learn more: An Interview With Lesley Hampton
2. Cheekbone Beauty | @cheekbonebeauty
- Category: Beauty
- Nation-Origin: Anishinaabe, St. Catharines, ON
Jenn Harper founded Cheekbone Beauty in 2016 to create more space for Indigenous peoples in the beauty industry. The brand’s now B Corp certified and carried in Sephora Canada and over 550 JCPenney locations across the US.
Harper has personally turned down investment offers on Dragons' Den to keep control of her vision, and the brand has donated over $250,000 to causes supporting Indigenous youth. What an icon!
What they do well: Cheekbone proves a brand can take a real stand without losing commercial impact. Their viral campaigns (#GlossedOver and Right the Story) with Sephora raise awareness on problems in Indigenous communities like the clean-water crisis and the erasure of Indigenous history.
3. Kekuli Cafe | @kekulicafecoffee
- Category: Food & Hospitality
- Nation-Origin: Nooaitch First Nation, Westbank, BC
Kekuli Cafe is Canada’s first Indigenous restaurant franchise, with locations across British Columbia in Westbank, Merritt, Kamloops, and Fort St. John. It’s built around Indigenous food, community gathering, and cultural pride.
Sharon Bond-Hogg, its co-founder, is an indigenous influencer of her own right. But the brand itself built its reputation through earned media, trade features, and a You Gotta Eat Here spot on Food Network.
What they do well: For Kekuli, press coverage helped turn a local food concept into a recognizable cultural brand. Through founders Sharon and Darren, they built an effective public relations strategy that built trust and credibility (both highly valued by consumers and AI search engines in the age of AI search!).
4. Sḵwálwen Botanicals | @skwalwenbotanicals
- Category: Skincare/Wellness
- Nation-Origin: Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) Nation, Squamish, BC
Leigh Joseph, an ethnobotanist, founded Sḵwálwen, an all-natural, plant-based, vegan, eco-friendly beauty and skin care brand in 2018. She later pitched it on Dragons' Den, which helped boost the brand's national profile and put her founder-scientist story in front of a much wider audience.
What they do well: Sḵwálwen Botanicals’ products are rooted in Indigenous culture, knowledge, and a deep understanding of the natural world. Leigh’s feed leans heavily on educational content to showcase the science behind each formulation and help people understand the traditions it comes from.
5. Decolonial Clothing | @decolonialclothing
- Category: Streetwear
- Nation-Origin: Nehiyaw & Anishinaabe, Vancouver, BC
Casey Desjarlais and Dakota Bear launched Decolonial Clothing in 2020; TikTok named them 2025 Visionary Voices honorees. They use their TikTok platform both to sell cool streetwear and educate on Indigenous issues like Land Back (reclamation of ancestral territories) and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S).
What they do well: For Decolonial, activism is the brand. Their designs, content, and marketing all trace back to their activist causes, so there's no line between what they sell and what they stand for.
Followers are fully aware that when they buy into the merch, they buy into the mission.
6. Indigo Arrows | @indigo_arrows
- Category: Art & Interior Design
- Nation-Origin: Anishinaabe, Peguis First Nation, Winnipeg, MB
Destiny Seymour, a trained interior designer, founded Indigo Arrows in 2016, translating 400- to 3,000-year-old pottery and bone-tool patterns into modern textiles. She's still the only designer behind every collection, even with a Milliken partnership and Globe and Mail coverage now backing the brand.
What they do well: Every design comes with real history behind it, which gives Indigo Arrows a story worth selling with every drop. Seymour being the only designer also means the brand has one clear voice and true identity. That's what makes people follow her, not just the product.
7. Kokom Scrunchies | @kokom_scrunchies
- Category: Accessories & Craft
- Nation-Origin: Algonquin, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, Gatineau, QC
Kokom means "grandmother" in Cree, and their whole ethos is to honor the women who literally raised them. Mya Beaudry started this at nine years old, naming every scrunchie after an Indigenous woman she admires, and her mother, Marcie, still runs the business alongside her.
What they do well: Kokom Scrunchies was built on social media from day one. Mya took her followers on a journey through the process of founding the brand, making the scrunchies, and naming the designs. The audience felt like part of the story, which made them more invested and engaged.
8. Sapling & Flint | @saplingandflint
- Category: Jewelry & Accessories
- Nation-Origin: Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk), Six Nations of the Grand River, Ohsweken, ON
Twin sisters Dakota and Jesse Brant founded Sapling & Flint in 2014 (originally Twindian Designs, renamed in 2017), making gold, sterling silver, and wampum jewelry rooted in Haudenosaunee tradition. Jesse designs and crafts the pieces; Dakota runs the business.
Their gold and sterling silver jewelry funds Haudenosaunee language immersion and youth programs with every sale.
What they do well: Sapling & Flint builds the marketing into the product. Every piece is made to start a conversation, so every customer becomes a walking billboard the moment they put it on.
9. Section 35 | @sectionthirtyfive
- Category: Streetwear
- Nation-Origin: Samson Cree Nation (Vancouver, BC)
Section 35 takes its name from the part of Canada's Constitution Act that recognizes and affirms Indigenous rights. Founder Justin Louis built the entire brand identity around that reference, so every drop doubles as commentary on Indigenous rights and resilience.
What they do well: Section 35 earned credibility first, then used it to land collaborations with Roots Canada, Foot Locker, Arc'teryx, and New Era. Their marketing strategy was to partner with big names to reach new people, without ever watering down the story or the name behind it.
10. Manitobah | @manitobah
- Category: Footwear & Lifestyle
- Nation-Origin: Métis (Winnipeg, MB)
Sean McCormick, Métis, founded Manitobah in 1997. They make mukluks, moccasins, and winter boots that draw from generations of craft traditions across tribes and Indigenous Nations in Canada.
Nearly 30 years later, it's one of the most recognized Indigenous-owned footwear brands in the country. Its Storyboot School teaches mukluk-making to young people for free!
What they do well: Manitobah invests heavily in community, and their community gives back in loyalty, trust, and word-of-mouth marketing. On Instagram, they center the artists, the artisans, and the Storyboot School to show the impact behind every purchase.