A report released this month confirmed what many of us already feel in our bones: more Canadian businesses are closing than opening. For the first time in recent memory, the numbers have tipped — and small, independent businesses are bearing the weight of it.

I want to talk about what that means. Not just as a small business owner, but as an Indigenous small business owner. Because the climate we're operating in right now is not the same for all of us.

The Surge, and What Followed

A few years ago, something shifted in Canada. When the unmarked graves were confirmed at former residential school sites, there was an outpouring of grief, solidarity, and intention. Canadians wanted to do something. Many of them turned to Indigenous businesses — buying with purpose, sharing our work, championing our voices. For a brief, meaningful window, there was an energy of genuine allyship.

At Totem Design House, we felt it. And we were grateful for it.

But what we're witnessing now is the pendulum swinging hard in the other direction.

The Backlash Nobody Warned Us About

As Indigenous rights have become more formally embedded in Canadian law — through legislation, court decisions, and constitutional recognition — something uncomfortable has begun to surface in the public conversation. Some Canadians have started to feel that Indigenous rights come at their expense. That title claims threaten their property. That reconciliation is something being done to them rather than something we are building together.

The result has been a sharp and measurable rise in hostility. We see it online. We hear it in conversations. We feel it in how our businesses are talked about, supported — or not.

This is not a simple story of a few bad actors. This is a cultural backlash, and it has consequences for Indigenous entrepreneurs who are trying to build something real, sustainable, and rooted in our communities.

What This Looks Like for Us

Running Totem Design House means navigating all of the challenges every small Canadian business faces right now — rising costs, shifting consumer confidence, the weight of a volatile economy. And it means navigating a layer on top of that: operating in a space where our identity, our rights, and our very presence as a business can become politicized.

But the environment we're operating in has changed. And I think it's important to name that honestly.

Why This Matters — And What You Can Do

Supporting Indigenous businesses isn't a trend, and it shouldn't be contingent on the news cycle or the emotional temperature of the country. It is a meaningful, tangible act of reconciliation that you can choose, repeatedly, in ordinary moments.

When you buy from Totem Design House, you are supporting Haida art and culture. You are supporting a small family business on Vancouver Island. You are participating in the continuation of something that has survived extraordinary pressure for generations.

Here's how you can help right now:

Shop with us. Every purchase matters more than you know in a climate like this one. Browse our current collection at [link].

Share our work. Tell a friend. Post something. Word of mouth from people who genuinely love what we do is one of the most powerful things you can offer us.

Stay curious. If you want to understand more about Indigenous rights in Canada — what they actually are, and why they matter — we'd encourage you to keep learning. Reconciliation is not a moment. It's a practice.

We are still here. We are still building. And we are grateful for every single one of you who chooses to show up for us — especially right now, when it matters most.

With gratitude, Erin Founder, Totem Design House