Indigenous brand accuses Walmart of cultural appropriation, copying logo
Canada’s first Indigenous department store is accusing Walmart Canada of cultural appropriation and copying its logo.
Chelsee Pettit, the founder of Toronto-based Indigenous retailer Aaniin, shared an image of a shirt on Instagram with the words for “mother” printed on it in several languages, including what is supposed to be Indigenous syllabics.
She says several people sent the photo to her claiming that they saw it at Walmart.
“To me this is extremely inappropriate @walmartcanada @walmart a massive conglomerate profiting on indigenous languages is exactly why I started @aaniin.hello — I knew one day this would happen,” reads Pettit’s post from Monday.
The Anishinaabe member of Aamjiwnaang First Nations also says the syllabics look like Aaniin’s logo, thus taking “away from [her] brand.”
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Pettit told Daily Hive over the phone that she wants Walmart to stop selling the shirt.
“I think that there’s enough Indigenous businesses that are thriving, or just need to be amplified,” she said on Tuesday. “I don’t think we need third-party corporations taking Orange Shirt sales, taking profits from Indigenous collaborations and partnerships.”
In an email statement to Daily Hive, a spokesperson for Walmart Canada said that diversity, equity and inclusion are core values at the company.
“We embrace these values throughout our business and promote them by working with a diverse group of suppliers and providing inclusive and accessible products,” the company stated.
They said that the shirt in question is an example of how they support their suppliers in offering more inclusive designs for customers.
“We acknowledge the importance of consulting Indigenous groups and encourage our teams and suppliers to make this part of our process for similar products,” the spokesperson said.
Last year, the retailer partnered with Indigenous artist Timothy Foster to design clothing for Orange Shirt Day. The shirts were $15 and 100% of the profits went to the Orange Shirt Society.
While it’s unclear whether Walmart collaborated with an Indigenous artist for the specific shirt in question, Pettit thinks big corporations just do these initiatives as a marketing ploy.
“I never looked down on the artist who does it… if there’s an opportunity, people should take it,” she said.
However, she says big businesses need to do more like investing in the community.
“When you support an Indigenous business who are already doing these efforts, it goes way further than just donating like $5 to charity,” said Pettit.
Many have condemned Walmart and voiced their support for Aaniin on social media.
“So incredibly disrespectful. I’m sorry this is happening to you. @walmartcanada has no regard for the communities it steals from while pretending to offer support,” one person commented on the store’s Instagram post.
“People who align themselves with capitalism and the state will co-opt anything that serves their individual interests,” added another. “It’s a huge effort to guard against this. Stay strong.”
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Pettit says she isn’t usually outspoken about her opinions and instead tries to amplify other people’s voices.
But this time she decided to speak out in an effort to “reclaim the Indigenous economy.”
She adds that this conversation is especially important given that it’s National Indigenous History Month.
She found that in 2021, there was bigger awareness of it due to the remains of hundreds children found at residential schools across Canada.
“I’ve seen definitely a huge decline with corporate initiatives with just the overall visibility and efforts,” said Pettit.
But besides financial support, Pettit says amplifying Indigenous voices is “always something that you can do for free.”
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