A new online directory of Ktunaxa businesses has launched.

‘Ktunaxa Ready’ has been in the works for almost a year and showcases Ktunaxa businesses, artisans and entrepreneurs in a handy, searchable format.

“Ktunaxa Ready is a response to market need,” said Shane Stewart, Business Development Officer with the Ktunaxa Nation Council (KNC). “Calls come in every week to the KNC Economic Sector from people who want to find Ktunaxa businesses. We wanted to make it easier for them to connect and work together.”

The web directory lists Ktunaxa businesses by category and highlights them with a feature page so potential customers and clients can learn more about who they are and what they offer.

“Ktunaxa businesses provide a vast array of products and services,” Stewart said, “The directory lists Ktunaxa sole proprietorships, partnerships and larger business entities—45 listings so far and growing.”

From logging and landscaping, to logo design, broadband, artists, a magician and more, Ktunaxa businesses are based everywhere from Ainsworth to Windermere, and in places outside of ʔamakʔis Ktunaxa (Ktunaxa homelands), such as Vancouver.

Donald Sam, director of the Ktunaxa Nation Council’s Economic Investment Sector, said, “Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, specifically Number 92, ‘Business and Reconciliation,’ provides a framework and set of values to move forward together—respectfully and successfully. Ktunaxa Ready can be seen as both promoting Ktunaxa businesses and supporting non-Indigenous businesses as they understand and practice reconciliation.”

The website is at www.ktunaxaready.com. Stewart invites everyone to visit the site, take a spin through the listings and case studies, and sign up for occasional notifications of interest.

“This is a way of strengthening business-to-business links in our region,” Sam said. “I look forward to seeing how Ktunaxa Ready facilitates new partnerships, benefits communities, organizations, and industries, and contributes to our regional, sustainable economy.”

Above photo: Gerald Puhach is the Operations Manager at Nupqu Native Plants, now a division of the Nupqu Resource Limited Partnership, which is proudly owned by the communities of the Ktunaxa Nation. Photo submitted

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