How this entrepreneur is bringing Indigenous fashion to Main Street – Mastercard
February 11, 2025
As Chelsee Pettit kneeled on the floor, a bottle of Windex in one hand, a fistful of paper towels in the other, she knew one thing for certain: She had made it.
Pettit, founder of the Indigenous clothing brand Aaniin, was mopping the floors of her 6,500-square-foot pop-up at Toronto’s Eaton Centre — supported by Mastercard, it was billed as the first 100% Indigenous-owned department store in Canada — while her team rang up tens of thousands of dollars in sales. “Holy cow, this is actually working,” she recalled thinking at the time. “It was working because I was letting my team do what they needed to, making money in the space.”
Pettit’s entrepreneurial journey didn’t begin with a clear path or a traditional business plan. It wasn’t until she saw a man wearing a T-shirt with an Indigenous symbol that she felt an immediate sense of connection. Excited to learn more, Pettit, who is Anishinaabe and a member of Aamjiwnaang First Nation, approached him — only to discover the symbol was not Indigenous at all, but simply a triangle.
