06/16/2026
🍃 Honouring National Indigenous Peoples Day, Sunday, June 21st, 2026 🍃
The Green Kiss is grateful to live and work on the traditional and unceded territories of the Lekwungen-speaking peoples, the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations. As National Indigenous Peoples Day approaches, we want to share two ways we're marking it: spotlighting an Indigenous-owned beauty brand we carry, and rounding up a few local ways to learn and take part here in Victoria.
🌿 BRAND SPOTLIGHT: Skwalwen Botanicals
We're proud to carry Sḵwálwen Botanicals, a Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh) Nation-owned skincare line founded by ethnobotanist Leigh Joseph. Every product is made from sustainably wild-harvested botanicals native to Squamish Nation lands, and each one carries its Squamish name as a small, meaningful way the brand shares and honours the language. Come by the shop and let us walk you through the line! It's a gorgeous one to add to your routine, and shopping it is a direct way to support an Indigenous-led business.
📚 WAYS TO LEARN & TAKE PART IN VICTORIA
Victoria Indigenous Cultural Festival (June 21–23) — three days of music, dance, an Indigenous Artisan Marketplace, and Indigenous food trucks at the Inner Harbour, hosted by the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.
Details: gvha.ca/about-gvha/blog/indigenous-cultural-festival
Royal Roads University's NIPD Celebration (Friday, June 19) — a community day of Indigenous culture, food, and music on the traditional lands of the Lekwungen-speaking peoples.
Details: royalroads.ca/NIPD
F1RST: A Celebration of Indigenous Film — a multi-day Indigenous film festival from the Victoria Film Festival, including a free public screening on NIPD itself.
Details: victoriafilmfestival.com
Victoria Native Friendship Centre — an Indigenous-led hub of programs and services right here in Victoria, worth following and supporting all year, not just this week.
Details: vnfc.ca
However you choose to mark the day, we hope it's with curiosity, respect, and support for the Indigenous-owned businesses and organizations doing this work year-round. 💛
Image Credit: Skwalwen Botanicals. Shop this healthy beauty line, here: https://www.thegreenkiss.com/collections/skwalwen-botanicals
