Treeteas Celebrates National Indigenous Peoples Day with New Tea… and Trudeau!
ELNOS is proud to feature an up-and-coming entrepreneur in our Region who is making a mark across the province! On June 21st, National Indigenous Peoples Day, Paul Owl of Treeteas Brewing Co. travelled to Ottawa to celebrate the launch of his new Treeteas flavour at the Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival.
Chef Trudy Metcalfe, her granddaughter Odanna, Paul Owl, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Photo credit: Peter Waiser Photography)
The festival brings together Indigenous artists, performers, chefs, educators, and community members to celebrate Canada’s diverse Indigenous cultures. National Indigenous Peoples Day coincides with the festival and is celebrated on the summer solstice, due its significance as the longest day of the year. The Summer Solstice Festivals are put together by Indigenous Experiences on behalf of the National Indigenous Peoples Day Committee, which consists of national organizations that represent Canada’s Indigenous communities.
The opening event of the festival was held at the Mādahòkì Farm in Ottawa, where Paul Owl met with Canada’s Governor General, Mary Simon, the leader of the New Democratic Party, Jagmeet Singh, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. They even gave their seal of approval to his signature Cedar Wildberry Chai tea. Treeteas Brewing Co.’s recipes are all Owl’s own creation and were originally served in mason jars. However, with his new collaboration with Mādahòkì Farm, the teas have a beautiful, sleek, new look. The collaboration is called Ziibiins Nibi, which is the Algonquin name for “stream water”. The art on the cans was designed by Rhonda Snow, a Métis artist from Fort Frances in Northwest Ontario. The designs are meant to illustrate the theme “water is life.” Ziibiins Nibi comes in both Treeteas flavours of Cedar Wildberry Chai and and his newest creation Cedar Wild Mint.
Treeteas and Mādahòkì collaboration, Ziibiins Nibi
Throughout the festivities there was a consensus that the Cedar Wild Mint tea was refreshing and thirst-quenching in the warm weather. If you are interested in trying any of the Treeteas varieties, they will be available at Sarah’s Food Truck in Elliot Lake on Hillside Drive N. If your business would like to stock Treeteas products, feel free to contact Treeteas Brewing Co. at @Treeteas_brewing on Instagram, @Treeteas Brewing Co on Facebook, or by phone at (705) 261-1271.
Paul Owl, of Treeteas Brewing Co., and Governor General Mary Simon (Photo credit: Peter Waiser Photography)
Mariah Miigwans, Paul Owl, Jagmeet Singh, and Stephanie Sarazin (Miigwans and Sarazin of Indigenous Experiences team at Mādahòkì Farm) (Photo credit: Peter Waiser Photography)