KOKOM’S BANNOCK KITCHEN
Tucked away in the northeast community of Mayland Heights sits a modest commercial kitchen, brimming with the smells of fresh bannock, a traditional Indigenous bread. The Kokom’s Bannock Kitchen team, which is made up of three generations of family, grandmother, daughter and granddaughter, is hard at work preparing their daily catering orders.
The family-owned business, started in 2017 by Leslie Bull (White Wolf Woman), is an authentic Indigenous catering company specializing in bannock.
“I try not to cook when I’m upset or angry because I don’t want anyone to feel that or eat that,” says Bull. “I know that when I’m mixing up the dough and making the bannock, my energy, my soul is already making a connection with the food.”
Before starting her catering business, Bull spent several years working in childcare. She eventually grew tired of the work and wanted to fulfill a different passion. She took catering jobs here and there before starting her own business. Kokom’s makes an array of Indigenous dishes, from soups and frybread treats to its main event, bannock.
Bull says she and her family work tirelessly in their kitchen, cooking everything from scratch and prepping orders all day, even into the wee hours of the morning.
“Sometimes a customer will want 500 pieces by eight o’clock in the morning, and I’m up at two o’clock. We’ve got two frying pans, and they’re both going. It’s a lot of work,” she says.
For Bull, nothing is more important than her grandchildren. Dedication to her family motivates her to continue serving the community, with the hope of one day passing her business down to the next generation.
“It’s not about the money,” says Bull. “It’s about my presence. And I want to make sure [my grandchildren] remember me. When I go to the spirit world, I want them to remember all the good times and all the good things I’ve given to them. That’s my legacy.”
Peruse the menu and place orders via their Facebook page, or reach out to kokomsbannockkitchen@gmail.com.
49DZINE – RAINY CHIEF TRADING POST
Another Indigenous gem in Calgary’s northeast quadrant is the Rainy Chief Trading Post storefront. This vibrant little shop is part of the 49DZine company, owned and operated by Nathan Rainy Chief.
While 49DZine has operated online since 2016, they opened a Calgary storefront in August 2020, followed shortly by another in Edmonton.
“It’s always been a dream of ours to get to a storefront location,” says Rainy Chief. “Prior to the storefronts, we were trying and trying to get enough capital to open a store, but it just wasn’t quite there, and then it was actually the pandemic that put us in a place to earn the capital enough to open a location.”
Rainy Chief describes 49DZine as a designer-first business. Clients work with their team to create original designs for Indigenous garments, which the 49DZine team then brings to life. The two physical storefronts serve as hubs for folks to purchase materials to create their own Indigenous garments.
Something that sets them apart, Rainy Chief says, is their focus on creating their own designs rather than repurposing.
“When you come to our locations, 80 per cent plus of our offerings are original designs. We carry that specialty knowledge and really try to focus on identity here, and right away people know that because it’s just that culture piece that we love to have.”
He added that keeping their services affordable is also crucial to the business.
“That’s always been our aspect, where we fit in the market is that we like to be affordable,” he says. “Because again, accessibility shouldn’t be a barrier to people for [their] identity.”
Further expansion of the business is planned for later this year as Rainy Chief prepares to open a third storefront in Winnipeg. He says he is looking forward to providing services to more Indigenous communities.
“When you go out into the community and see how much of a difference that you’re making, it’s that pride piece of knowing that you’re giving people an identity of who they are,” says Rainy Chief. “Being able to see that either [people] wear one of our garments or they make their own garment from some of the designs that we come up with; it’s just that special notion that there’s actually a community of 49dzine-ers out there.”
Check out their new spring collection and place an order at rctradingpost.com.
