Handcrafted by Indigenous artists who receive 100% of the proceeds.
What does it mean to be Indigenous–owned?
What does it mean to be Indigenous–owned?
- Supporting Indigenous communities
- Sharing success with others
- Keeping traditions alive
- Celebrating Indigenous values and history
Our ancestry is our authenticity.
Our story began thousands of years ago.
1630 — The North American fur trade leads to the birth of a new people — the Métis.
1870 — Manitoba becomes a province of Canada. Métis artisans supply handmade goods for emerging markets.
1990 — Métis entrepreneur, Sean McCormick, establishes a trading post in Winnipeg, trading tanned leather for mukluks and moccasins.
2006 — Hollywood celebrities are photographed in the company’s footwear, creating demand worldwide.
Today — Manitobah becomes Canada’s fastest-growing footwear brand, and continues to partner with Indigenous artisans and organizations.
We are Métis
We were known as “the flower beadwork people.”
The Métis are one of three officially recognized Indigenous groups in Canada. For hundreds of years the Métis wove floral bead patterns into the lives of the tribes on the Northern Plains. The Dakota Sioux and Cree called us “the flower beadwork people.” Today we continue creating footwear that reflects our unique artistic heritage.
The Art of our sole
A canvas for an Indigenous story, by an Indigenous artist.
Heather Steppler’s maternal ancestors were musically, artistically, and spiritually inclined and include traditional birch bark biters and medicine women.
After obtaining a Fine Arts degree, Heather embraced her heritage by learning beading, medicine picking, Indigenous crafts, and attending powwows.
Art Meets Technology
The world’s finest traditional footwear, from the ground up.
Proudly crafting the world’s finest Indigenous-inspired footwear.
At Manitobah, we use high-quality materials and talented artisans to create the best mukluks and moccasins in the world. It takes a lot of time and effort to produce Manitobah footwear and we take great pride in the comfort, function and beauty we create.
We also take pride in being Canadian, which is why we continue to produce 20 per cent of our footwear at our Indigenous-owned production facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Manitobah is a true Canadian success story. At a time where Canadian manufacturing expertise is on the decline, we are expanding our Canadian production. We are also growing our partnerships with ethical manufacturing partners overseas to ensure there is no limit to the growth of the brand and the impact we can make in our community. This dual production model also offers more choice for consumers.
Occasionally, however, I am asked whether a Canadian Indigenous-owned company should be working with partners overseas. To me, the answer couldn’t be more clear: I believe our expansion in production leads to a bigger local impact.
As an Indigenous Canadian, AUTHENTIC to me means being engaged in and contributing to my community. It also means respecting our history while creating positive change for the future. And the best way for me to bring about that change for Indigenous Canadians is to get as many people wearing Manitobah Mukluks as possible.
Our success allows us to work with more local artists, showcase successful Indigenous role models and bring our culture to the world. We also invest in education and employment through our partnership with the Centre for Indigenous Human Resource Development, and I’m particularly proud of our Storyboot project, which helps revive traditional arts in our communities through business-building partnerships with elders and artisans who fashion mukluks and moccasins the traditional way.
Our Walk With Us program is also making a difference by allowing our customers to share in our vision and direct a portion of their sale to the Manitobah program of their choice. It’s simple. For every pair of Manitobah Mukluks sold, we make a bigger impact in our community.
We are proud of our success on the world stage and we welcome the opportunity to compete against all fashion brands. We will continue to make Manitobah more accessible to more people, and we will continue to make footwear using the same high-quality materials and thousand year-old designs that define us — whether it’s a handcrafted Storyboot, Canadian-made item or a mukluk or moccasin produced outside of Canada. I believe that our success as an Indigenous business has been due to our willingness to walk forward while honouring our past.
Thank you for walking with us.
CEO and Founder – Manitobah Mukluks
In the community
Together, we're making a difference.
Each year we partner with CAHRD to provide an education bursary that allows Indigenous students to attend college or university. Together with CAHRD, our hope is to bring self-determination to all Indigenous people through improved literacy skills and training for new career paths, including working at Manitobah.