Indigenous-owned business sharing its culture

By Lorenzo Gavilan Vargas Times Reporter

In addition to its success with shipping orders around the world, the main goal for Boy Chief Trading Post remains to share Indigenous culture and uplift Indigenous creators.

The business, located 30 minutes southeast of Strathmore on the Siksika Nation Reserve, consists of a gas station and the Trading Post, both of which have been owned and managed by Mona Royal and her husband Darryl McDonald since 2001.

“We wanted to offer our community business that you don’t have to run to Strathmore for, like fuel or munchies,” said Royal. “We wanted to do something for our community, because we do a lot of donating and a lot of giving back. We wanted to be able to also employ our own people.”

The motivation to give back to their community is directly inspired by the store’s namesake, Boy Chief himself, who is Royal’s great grandfather. At one point, Boy Chief owned one of the largest ranches in southern Alberta and was considered a wealthy aristocrat by non-native standards due to the amount of land he owned. 

“He was one of the few that was allowed to leave the reserve – you needed a pass to leave the reserve in those days – and he was the one who owned the most horses at Siksika. So he was a big, big guy, yet he was still a humble person,” said Royal. “From my dad’s teachings and his teachings from Boy Chief, you always have to be a humble giver.”

Following in the same footsteps as her great grandfather, Royal has gifted blankets to inspirational people, such as former NHL player Jordin Tootoo, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, and Black Eyed Peas member Taboo.

“When we’re gifting it’s usually from the heart, and we really wanted to honour them.”

To Royal, being a local Indigenous-owned business means cooperation.

“If one succeeds, we all succeed – to be able to see other businesses succeed is a real dream of mine,” she said. “To support local is to say that you love your community, because you want to see your community thrive. I think supporting local means you care about each other, and you want the best for each other. And if we’re really going to walk the walk and talk the talk, we have to support each other. We have to, or we wouldn’t have been here for 19 years.”