ᐋᓃᓐ aaniin and Ode’mini Giizis Coffee Company & Cafe - interweaving family, through Anikoopijiganan

By: Amy White

May 4, 2025

My great, great grandmother, Zhaabwe kwe or Shobway was a basket maker.  She had to be permitted to leave the reserve under the “Pass” system. It was against the law to leave the segregated encampment  known as a reserve prior to 1951, without a Canadian Government issued pass to do so. Zhaabwe was a weaver, of intergenerational knowledge, weaving landscapes into stories contained in her baskets, even if no known living tangible items remain of those baskets today.

In the heart of Turtle Island, where tradition meets entrepreneurship, Ode’mini Giizis Coffee Co. and ᐋᓃᓐ aaniin have come together in humble ways, and with some effort - spanning distance, both real and perceived, we’ve forged a common brand partnership, but one  built on shared values, cultural celebration, and community empowerment.

Our collaboration might be about business—but it’s rooted in so much more than that, it’s about rekindling hope, and reconnecting missing pieces of our family story, and the hardest part to reckon with, has been about the unspoken thread, and the inkling, that some threads might always remain untied, but that doesn't mean the love has ever been or ever will be less.

The 2024 season of Bear’s Lair, was marked with triumph by Chelsee Pettit, of Aamjiwnaang First Nation, in an event that announced her as the  2024 season winner, in a powerful milestone moment for Anishinaabeg (Odawawag) entrepreneurship. Ode’mini Giizis Coffee was truly honoured to be there as a proud witness and supporter as a caterer during the watch party event, turned celebration, hosted by ᐋᓃᓐ aaniin. Guests (including Chelsee) were warmed with our Unity Blend coffee, and blueberry sweetgrass tea, as we all cheered, and teared up, inspired by the remarkable journey, this Anishinaabe Kwe is on. Not only to rise as an entrepreneur, against so many apparent odds, but also to rise up and to go out of her way to  bring others along with  her, speaks volumes about her character.  I mean, she doesn’t have to, but she wants to.

The event was one filled with pride, joy, and awe and when I reflect back on my social media post, at that time, I described it like this, "Who you are, along with your tremendous vision & work ethic, is moving mountains. (Your Odawa ancestors who've been bartering for millennia+ here on Turtle Island are smiling from beyond.)”

There’s history. There’s lots we don’t talk about openly, because some wounds span lifetimes.  My mother became a teen mother, shortly after her father’s young death, in the late 1960’s, the grief of having lost her only nurturing parent is one she rarely speaks of. My mom’s narrative connects with the 60’s scoop. That is her story to tell, and one that Chelsee’s dad, and family are inheritors of. It’s a personal narrative between them, and it’s their story to unfold, in whatever way that means for them. That’s been difficult for me to accept, but a part of why I appreciate the huge heart Chelsee has, when she reaches out to connect, is ties are rekindled with our immediate family and there’s too much to unpack, for me, let alone, my respect for the fact, the story is theirs to tell.

Through our partnership, with ᐋᓃᓐ aaniin, Chelsee remains a catalyst - inspiring Odemini Giizis Coffee Co. (my daughter Chloe and myself’s company), to rise in our own way, when we could have easily given up, with all the many angles of discouragement we’ve experienced over the past two years, but no, Chelsee offered us a hand, and that’s not to say others didn’t, but her sharing in her powerful journey, which also has its ups and downs, comes with a platform to showcase Indigenous brands, craftsmanship, and culture, and she saw fit to invite us to casually collaborate. Sure, it may have been partially for convenience sake on her part, when other retailers backed out of being part of ᐋᓃᓐ aaniin's pop-up at the Eaton Centre, last December, but it doesn’t undermine Chelsee made room in her business. Her strength and resiliency, and attitude of not to quit, motivates us to have a little more fight in us, and so we keep going, working just a little bit harder, too. Our companies shared work and messaging together echoes the importance of Indigenous representation in business, in a country where it feels as though others often want to take what we have, at our expense. Therefore, our representation and showing up to create fair and ethical trading spaces for ourselves and our future, matters.

The Truth and Reconciliation Day event was our next collaboration. Organized by ᐋᓃᓐ aaniin in collaboration with Generation Women Canada, the event took place in the evening at The Lounge at Live Nation Canada, located at 2 Snooker Street, Toronto. The evening featured six Indigenous matriarch speakers, each representing ten years between them. Stories and insights were shared. There was even an exclusive marketplace and concession offering provided by Ode'mini Giizis Coffee Co. & Cafe, with prices ranging up to $10, along with coffee bean samples being offered at wholesale prices. Orange shirts were sold for $30, that included QR codes to promote the 94 calls to action and their syllabic translations were written in Anishinaabemowin. The purpose of the event was to amplify Indigenous voices, raise awareness about Truth and Reconciliation, and provide support for Indigenous communities. Those in need of emotional support or assistance were encouraged to contact the Indian Residential School Survivors Society via their toll-free number or 24-hour crisis line.

One of the speakers, Deanne Hupfield, was the talented Fancy Shawl Dancer, a mother of one of my former students who I taught online during the pandemic at Wandering Spirit School. My own mother represented the matriarchs in the 70’s category.  What a gift it is to privilege a woman who has endured a heck of a lot.  A woman who often stands in the shadows behind her family, propping everyone else up. This night, the crowd was all ears, leaning in to her sharing her story. It was one of her connection to Chief Oshawanoo, or John Nahdee, some say, he carried on the namesake of Tecumseh, and this is something my family holds privately, so I was surprised my mom travelled all the  way to Toronto, waiting until her 70’s to share information of our family lineage with the world. Potawatomi War Chief, Shknibi (Ashkebee), and elder Chief Podawegiizhik (one who makes footprints through the sky) are also who my mom’s people, our people descend from.  We carry this knowledge humbly, allowing the strength of our ancestors to guide us forward through and beyond difficult times, of which our family has faced many, too many to name here but we’re growing together, learning together, and retracing our steps, we’re healing.  We’re unashamed of who we are, the obstacles we’ve overcome, and we’re not afraid to face more in the future.

My mom is an intergenerational survivor of attempted genocide against her in this lifetime, here in Canada. She’s a residential institute survivor born of two parents who themselves, were both survivors. She has won, they have won, and so has our family. We win each day when we declares victory by holding close, our Anishinaabeg heritage, our lineage, passing it forward so loud and proudly. I tell it as though I were there, I wasn’t, I stayed back to mind the cafe that time, but I know it, she’s instilled this spirit in me since before birth. And for her and our family, I’m ever grateful.

From cultural events to business networking opportunities, Ode’mini Giizis Coffee Co. and ᐋᓃᓐ aaniin consistently create spaces where relationships flourish. Our joint efforts bring people together—not just for commerce, but for authentic connection. Our moments of gathering are now scribed reminders that Indigenous success is more than individual achievement; it’s a collective force of progress, of not giving up, but giving back, in gratitude and in  celebration.

Together, Ode’mini Giizis Coffee Co. and ᐋᓃᓐ aaniin have proven that business can be more than transactions—it can be storytelling, empowerment, and legacy-building. Our partnership is a testament to the strength of our shared legacy as Anishinaabe kwewag led enterprises and the boundless opportunities that we can create and that emerge when tradition and innovation are braided.

From celebrating Chelsee’s win on Season 2 of Bear’s Lair, to Chelsee setting up a modest display of our coffee beans at her ᐋᓃᓐ aaniin Pop-up Storefront last December inside the Eaton’s Centre, to Chelsee’s reconnecting to our family heritage, publicly, something she does exceptionally and unapologetically well. We’re proud to celebrate her and honoured ᐋᓃᓐ aaniin is a trusted partner we choose to collaborate with to feature our coffee brand, we’re working to build.

In a country where politicians fight against us to search landfills -where our women are disposed of and found in dumps in raging and growing epidemic numbers, here’s to Chelsee and ᐋᓃᓐ aaniin and here’s to us,  Ode’mini Giizis Cafe, and to our matriarchs, past, present and future who helped us to carry and deliver the story and legacy of warriors veins, those unsung and improperly acknowledged heroes who helped to shape Canada! I  mean not to be crass, we have our imperfections here, but literally thanks to our ancestors, we are sovereign and separate from our brothers down south, who we feel for, nonetheless. May us ladies continue to walk the streets in safety, with awareness that our stories matter, even if it's only us sharing with one another but that we give ourselves permission to flourish, anyway. Here’s to us, and here’s to us keeping going! 

We got this.