New BrunswickAmber Solomon doesn’t have a whole lot of spare time on her hands, but that’s one of the symptoms of owning three businesses.Amber Solomon owns a clothing brand, food truck and clothing companyJordan Gill · CBC News · Posted: Sep 30, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoCreative business owner operates in traditional and non-Indigenous spaces alikeAmber Solomon, a young entrepreneur from Bilijk (Kingsclear) First Nation, has opened three businesses in the past six years. Amber Solomon doesn’t have a whole lot of spare time on her hands, but that’s one of the symptoms of owning three businesses.The businesswoman from Bilijk (Kingsclear) First Nation runs a clothing company called Siqon Co., a food truck named Melt & Co., and Mawiye Catering, all based in Fredericton.”It’s quite a lot,” Solomon said in an interview with Information Morning Fredericton. “I’ve done this for six years. So I’ve kind of learned how to balance everything.”Solomon began her entrepreneurial career when she was still in high school, doing beadwork.Solomon’s clothing designs are inspired by Indigenous iconography and issues. (Victoria Walton/CBC)She then moved into clothing, her designs inspired by Indigenous iconography and issues.”I focus on Indigenous representation and being able to use the messages that are on my sweaters to share about the land we’re on and who we are as people,” said Solomon.”One of them has ‘Wolastoq’ and then it says ‘People of the Beautiful and Bountiful River.’ So it tells a little bit about who we are as Wolastoqey people and the land that we are on.”While Indigenous traditions don’t necessarily influence her culinary treats, there are nods to her Wolastoqey heritage.’You don’t have to necessarily do everything traditionally Indigenous within business… You can take up multiple spaces and do that in different ways and still have fun with it,’ said Solomon. (Victoria Walton/CBC)”For my catering, ‘Mawiye’ actually means ‘They come together,'” said Solomon. “Something that I’ve grown up with and really admire about being from such a small Indigenous community… is that being able to come together and share just laughs and food and all of that is so sacred. So I really wanted to be able to bring people together through catering and then through the food truck as well.”Being creative with her heritageSolomon didn’t take business courses in university; she studied sociology. But she said her research into issues that impact Indigenous communities solidified her wish to promote her culture. You don’t have to necessarily do everything traditionally Indigenous within business.— Amber Solomon”I knew I was passionate about Indigenous issues and just being able to provide Indigenous culture and awareness,” she said. “So [I’m] kind of doing that in my own way, I guess, and being able to be creative with it.”Solomon said she has faced challenges being an Indigenous woman in business. She said she had to learn to treat herself seriously as a businesswoman and deal with her own feelings of imposter syndrome.”You don’t have to necessarily do everything traditionally Indigenous within business, and you can take up multiple spaces and do that in different ways and still have fun with it,” she said.ABOUT THE AUTHORJordan Gill is a CBC reporter based out of Fredericton. He can be reached at jordan.gill@cbc.ca.With files from Information Morning Fredericton and Victoria Walton
Why a busy Bilijk entrepreneur values sharing Indigenous culture ‘in my own way’
