DREAM MAKER DREAM CATCHER—

By Theresa Peters

She’s a mother, foster mom and entrepreneur with two thriving businesses; she lives life with relish and has immense dreams to impact the Indigenous community. Michelle Cameron, of Peguis First Nation, has her hands and heart full. She is relentlessly moving forward, breaking barriers and setting milestones for Indigenous business owners to follow in her footsteps.

“I’ve entrepreneur heart,” Cameron says in an interview with SAY Magazine, and her commitment to constant improvement, success and giving back is a testament to her endurance and hard work.

Setting Records

Today she owns Dream Catcher Promotions, the largest First Nation promotions company in Canada (with a new USA branch as well) and Indigenous Nations Apparel Company (INAC). When INAC opened its store in Polo Park, a shopping centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, it became the very first Indigenous-owned and operated business to ever be in any of the Cadillac-Fairview properties (think of the TD Centre, Eaton’s Centre, Pacific Centre, Chinook Centre and many others).

Breaking Barriers

Dream Catcher Promotions opened its doors in 2011 in a 750-square-foot storefront after Cameron saw a need for custom embroidery and got a grant to buy an embroidery machine. Had she ever used one before? No, but that did not stop her. And she was not about to let the unraveling of a global pandemic stop her either! Due to COVID-19, Cameron pivoted the business to online sales to pay the rent on the newly acquired 3,500-square-foot location in the Swan Lake Office in Headingley, Manitoba.

Cameron is always looking for ways to meet the needs of her audience. Dream Catcher Promotions creates designs for corporations, but there was still a need in the industry for a space for Indigenous artists to design and print their own unique designs for clothing. This need birthed the idea for INAC in 2021 yes, in the middle of the pandemic. INAC not only has two storefronts with the ultimate goal of having a store in every province and territory in Canada but also partners with The North West Company to get their designs on the racks in rural and remote communities in Canada.

The Why

Knowing why you are doing something is what keeps a person going on the hard days, and Cameron is very clear about her why.

It’s all about community. The stores reflect her community’s culture and dreams, and her success leaves a pattern for others to follow—it demonstrates what is possible. If others see someone from their community thriving and growing in business ownership, then they will believe they can do it too. Cameron thrives on the pride she sees in the Indigenous community and is inspired to leave a legacy of hard work, commitment and business excellence for her children.

Theresa Peters, an educator by trade, is a writer and editor with SAY Magazine. She is also an avid blogger and a Language Arts Mentor with Discern to Learn.