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Indigenous-owned · Saskatoon, Treaty 6 · Shipping across Canada
An introduction to North Bay: its history, the Nations whose lands it sits on, and Indigenous community life today, with sources.
About 11.7% of residents identified as Indigenous, well above the national share. The city calls itself the Gateway to the North and serves as the seat of the District of Nipissing. Nipissing University and Canadore College draw students from across the north. The shores of Lake Nipissing have been a gathering place for thousands of years. Tourism North Bay estimates about 10,000 Ojibwe people lived in the territory before European contact. The lake later became part of the Nipissing Route of the fur trade. In the 1700s, conflict over the fur trade pushed the Nipissing from their lands for a time. They returned and allied with the British, fighting American forces in 1814. In 1850, the Robinson-Huron Treaty was signed, setting out reserve lands for the Nipissing. Chief Shabogesic was among the early treaty signatories.
North Bay is on the ancestral lands of the Nipissing First Nation (Nbisiing), an Anishinabek community, within the lands of the Robinson-Huron Treaty of 1850.
Nearby: Nipissing First Nation · Dokis First Nation · Callander · Mattawa · Sturgeon Falls · Corbeil
Nipissing First Nation is an Anishinabek community based in Garden Village, with other communities including Duchesnay. It governs itself under its own constitution, the Gichi-Naaknigewin, through Chief and Council. The Nation runs education from early childhood to post-secondary, plus health, social and land management services. An Anishinaabemwin language program supports culture and heritage. Tourism North Bay reports that the city's Indigenous population now exceeds 8,000, close to pre-contact numbers. The North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre opened on November 23, 1974, at Third and Cassells streets. It offers language and culture programs, youth education and employment training. Its Indigenous Alternative Secondary School Education program helps students finish high school. Suswin Village provides 30 units of transitional housing. Each June the centre hosts the Maamwi Kindaaswin Pow Wow at Lee Park, near Lake Nipissing. It began as a children's event and now draws over 5,000 people, and everyone is welcome to watch and join intertribal dances. The centre also marks Red Dress Day, Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21 and Orange Shirt Day.
More on the region: Indigenous Ontario · 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 North Bay and across Robinson-Huron Treaty territory.
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 North Bay and across Robinson-Huron Treaty territory. 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 North Bay 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 North Bay. 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 North Bay.
Yes. Orders of $90 or more ship free to North Bay and anywhere else in Canada. Smaller orders show the shipping cost at checkout. Every order is packed in Saskatoon and leaves our shop within 1 to 3 business days.
Yes. Custom screen printing starts at 10 garments, with up to 4 colours in a design. Every order gets a full quote before anything is printed, and design help is included. We print in Saskatoon and ship the order to North Bay.
No. We have no events, booths or stockists in North Bay. XUSI sells online and ships from Saskatoon. Our only retail presence is in the Saskatoon area, at Wanuskewin. Orders of $90 or more ship free across Canada.
Last reviewed . Facts on this page come from the sources listed below.
XUSI began with a gap: gym clothes that carried Indigenous identity instead of leaving it at the door. That is still the centre of the line, and it ships from Saskatoon to North Bay.
The tees, hoodies and hats are designed by two Indigenous brothers on Treaty 6. Start with Indigenous gym wear, or see what every word means on the Meanings page.
