These businesses are flourishing by serving Indigenous needs first – The Globe and Mail
Press Release
May 9, 2024
Deanne Hupfield was 19 years old when she taught her first Powwow dancing class. She and her best friend rented space in a community centre in her hometown of Thunder Bay, Ont., printed flyers and handed them out at the bus terminal.
Hupfield laughs when she tells the story. “Some women showed up and said, ‘Okay, what do we do?’ I said, ‘Just dance behind me,’ because that was how I learned as a child. It wasn’t the best way to teach, and none of the women came back.”
Her first attempt may have been unsuccessful, but in the two decades since, Hupfield has built a thriving business that includes instruction in Powwow dancing and making regalia – the clothing that Indigenous dancers wear during traditional dances. Now based in Toronto, she offers both in-person and virtual courses and has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on her YouTube channel.
