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Indigenous-owned · Saskatoon, Treaty 6 · Shipping across Canada
An introduction to Corner Brook: its history, the Nations whose lands it sits on, and Indigenous community life today, with sources.
In the 2021 census, 29.5% of residents identified as Indigenous, mostly First Nations. Qalipu First Nation, a Mi’kmaq band, has its headquarters on Church Street. The Beothuk and Mi’kmaq are the Indigenous peoples of this part of Newfoundland. By the 17th century, Heritage NL records Mi’kmaq families hunting, fishing and trapping along the island’s southwest coast. They treated Newfoundland and Cape Breton as parts of one traditional territory. Mi’kmaq oral traditions speak of friendly relations with the Beothuk. By the mid-1800s, Mi’kmaq families across the island trapped furs, hunted caribou and guided surveyors through the interior.
Corner Brook lies in the traditional territories of the Beothuk and Mi’kmaq, as Memorial University’s Grenfell Campus acknowledges. The city is home to the headquarters of Qalipu First Nation, a landless Mi’kmaq band created in 2011.
Nearby: Steady Brook · Pasadena · Deer Lake · Humber Arm South · Lark Harbour · Stephenville
Qalipu First Nation is headquartered in Corner Brook. Its name means caribou in Mi'kmaq. Qalipu was created in 2011 as a landless band, after decades of advocacy by the Federation of Newfoundland Indians, founded in 1972. Enrolment drew about 105,000 applications, far more than the government expected. Reviews followed, and by 2021 nearly 24,000 members were recognized across 67 communities. The process remains contested, and some groups have challenged it in court. Chief Jenny Brake leads Qalipu for the 2024 to 2028 term, with a council of vice-chiefs and ward councillors. The band offers education funding, employment help, health benefits and housing support. It says it works to reclaim language and Mi'kmaw craft, and it invites status, non-status and non-Indigenous people to connect and get involved. Its weekly newsletter is called Maw-pemita'jik Qalipu'k. At Grenfell Campus, the Indigenous Affairs office supports students, and the student-led GCSU Indigenous Caucus advocates for Indigenous learners. The campus acknowledges the Beothuk, Mi'kmaq, Innu and Inuit of the province. In the 2021 census, nearly three in ten Corner Brook residents identified as Indigenous.
More on the region: Indigenous Newfoundland and Labrador · all of Canada.
XUSI is an Indigenous-owned business from Saskatoon, started in 2020 by two brothers from northern Saskatchewan. Along with our clothing, we bring Indigenous youth workshops and custom screen printing to Corner Brook and across Newfoundland and Labrador.
Strong Roots Strong Future is our interactive workshop for Indigenous youth, led by the two brothers who founded XUSI. We travel to schools, First Nations and Indigenous communities, youth organizations and funding programs in Corner Brook and across Newfoundland and Labrador. Youth ages 10 and up work through identity and culture, financial literacy, fitness, entrepreneurship and business skills, career readiness and hands-on screen printing.
Custom t-shirts, hoodies and crewnecks for Corner Brook schools, sports teams, businesses, events and First Nations and Indigenous organizations. Send us an idea, get free design help and a full quote before anything is printed. We print in Saskatoon and ship to Corner Brook. 10-garment minimum, up to 4 colours per design.
Heavyweight cotton tees, hoodies, crewnecks and A-frame hats with Cree words and the stories behind them. Fitness is part of how XUSI started, so our pieces are built for the gym and the street, and we ship them to Corner Brook.
Yes. Orders of $90 or more ship free to Corner Brook and anywhere else in Canada. Orders under $90 show the shipping cost at checkout. Every order leaves our Saskatoon shop within 1 to 3 business days.
Yes. Custom screen printing starts at 10 garments, with up to 4 colours per design. Every order gets a full quote before anything is printed, and design help is included. We print everything in Saskatoon and ship the finished order to you in Corner Brook.
Corner Brook is in the traditional territories of the Beothuk and Mi'kmaq, and Qalipu First Nation has its headquarters here. Our own shop is on Treaty 6 land in Saskatoon. Many of our designs carry Cree words, and you can read the story behind each one on our meanings page.
Last reviewed . Facts on this page come from the sources listed below.
The clothing sits between streetwear and the gym: heavy cotton tees, hoodies, crewnecks and A-frame snapbacks, all drawn by two Indigenous brothers in Saskatoon and shipped to Corner Brook.
Nothing is licensed or bought in. Every design, and every Cree word on it, comes from the founders. Browse the whole line, or read the meanings behind the words.
