Indigenous-run business expanding to next generation

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This article was published 25/09/2024 (371 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TEEKCA is starting her own boutique — one similar to a long-running Manitoba enterprise.

Teekca’s Aboriginal Boutique, known for its Indigenous wares, left St. Vital Centre last year following a shift in lease arrangements.

The company has grown from a Norway House shop in 1997 to a chain with several locations. It’s occupied The Forks for 20 years and has been on St. Matthews Avenue for four.

Teekca Spence watched her mother build the business. Now, she’s taking a turn.

“I decided that I’ll try my hand at it,” Spence said Tuesday, hours before heading to St. Vital.

She’s circled Oct. 19 as the date she’ll open Teekca’s Atawekamik (Cree for “store”) in the mall. It’ll be similar to Teekca’s Aboriginal Boutique, yet different, with some new artists on display. And this time, Spence will own the company.

Powwow belts and moccasins may be available for purchase.

Spence, 30, was a fixture in Teekca’s Aboriginal Boutique for years. While in university, she’d sell items at The Forks; eventually, she shifted to helping with data entry and back-end work before leaving in 2018 to launch a human resources career elsewhere.

“I always thought that I would one day take over,” Spence said of Teekca’s Aboriginal Boutique.

And a dip of the toes in St. Vital is a way to see if entrepreneurship is the “right fit,” Spence continued.

Her parents will act as mentors. Marilyn Tanner-Spence, founder of Teekca’s Aboriginal Boutique, has been advising on products, store layout and paperwork.

“I’m really proud of her,” Tanner-Spence said. “She wants to do everything that she can to learn from the ground up how to start and run a business.”

Tanner-Spence is eyeing retirement. Hopefully it’ll happen within the next five years, she relayed.

She’s envisioning her youngest daughter, Teekca Spence, taking over the three locations. It’s Spence’s goal too.

For now, Spence is sifting through resumés — all Indigenous applicants — to work at the new shop.

Teekca’s Aboriginal Boutique operated in St. Vital Centre for about three years. It was on a short-term lease; a long-term tenant said they wanted the space, and Teekca’s was asked to move to another storefront, Tanner-Spence explained.

However, the timing didn’t work out — Tanner-Spence was gone during the proposed move, so she closed the site, she said.

“I can’t even tell you how many people have called me and texted me, went to the other stores, saying ‘What’s happening?’” she added.

As the family has been renovating in St. Vital Centre — in a new space near The Bay — they’ve been getting knocks on the door from former customers, Tanner-Spence said. They put a Teekca’s Aboriginal Boutique sign in the window, though the store is separately owned from Teekca’s Atawekamik.

Spence aims for the store to be “as successful” as Teekca’s Aboriginal Boutique was in St. Vital. She’s grateful for her parents’ support, she underscored. It’s a family affair: on Tuesday, her sister was receiving shipments for the new locale.

Tanner-Spence co-launched a site in The Village, Pineridge Hollow’s retail strip, in 2022. It’s now solely run by Amy Der-Ironstar, whom Tanner-Spence mentored. The mentee was “ready to go on her own,” Tanner-Spence said.

She believes her daughter has more opportunity than Teekca’s Aboriginal Boutique did upon starting — now there’s social media and a wider acceptance of Indigenous businesses.

“Her opportunity is very, very diverse,” Tanner-Spence said.

Renee Greyeyes, president of the Indigenous Chamber of Commerce, applauded the family for spanning two generations of entrepreneurship.

“Seeing an Indigenous business thrive and expand … is always what we’re aiming for, especially with socioeconomic reconciliation,” Greyeyes added. “We just congratulate them.”

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com