Now in its 38th year, the Arctic Trading Company is a small business located in Churchill, Manitoba, on the shores of Hudson’s Bay. The company manufactures and sells native-made slippers, mukluks, mitts and gauntlets. They also sell furs and souvenir items, and they collect art from many different First Nations across Canada for resale.

Owners Penny and Keith Rawlings have two main objectives:

• to encourage the preservation of traditional arts and crafts
• to establish a facility to house artifacts that appeal to a growing tourist market

“We’ve been supported in our efforts by the Communities Economic Development Fund (CEDF),’ said Penny Rawlings. “CEDF gave us a loan and we are only required to make payments on that loan during our high season, when the tourism business is strongest. We are not required to make loan payments during the off-season, which gives us a lot more flexibility.”