Karen Moosomin and her business partner and co-founder of Sacred Earth, Jenn Johnson. Photo supplied. By Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter (ANNews) – For Karen Moosomin, skincare is more than a product. It is a connection to culture, healing, and the teachings passed down through generations. As the founder of Sacred Earth Extracts, Moosomin has built an Indigenous-owned business that combines bison tallow, botanicals, sacred medicines, and modern herbal practices to create natural wellness products rooted in traditional knowledge. “We use bison tallow as our base for our skincare, as well as botanicals, and we incorporate the sacred medicines from the medicine wheel,” Moosomin said. The company’s most recognized products are its aroma balms, solid perfumes and colognes made with bison tallow and sacred medicines. “Alongside with bison tallow and then the sacred medicines, it makes it very traditional and very healing and grounding,” she explained. For Moosomin, Sacred Earth Extracts is part of a much larger personal journey of healing and reconnecting with her culture. She grew up in foster care after losing her mother to violence when she was four years old. Her mother’s death is connected to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls crisis. Over the past decade, Moosomin has worked through her own healing journey, including overcoming substance use and reconnecting with her identity, culture, and purpose. “I’ve been clean and sober for four and a half years now. It’ll be five years in November,” she said. Moosomin credits sobriety with helping her gain clarity and a deeper appreciation for the world around her. “I just find that I have a clear mind now, and a new perspective on life,” she said. “I am able to feel my feelings now and to check out my surroundings and be more aware of how the world is beautiful.” That healing journey helped inspire Sacred Earth Extracts. “Alcohol is a neurotoxin, and it just blocks you,” she said. “Life has been so much better since taking that away from my substance use.” Today, Moosomin is focused on her business, her children, and sharing knowledge with the community. “I’ve been able to focus more on my business, my kids, and I find that things have been falling more into my lap, like goodness, by focusing on better things in life,” she said. Sacred Earth Extracts blends traditional Indigenous medicines with modern herbalism. The company incorporates medicines such as sage, cedar, and tobacco while also offering products inspired by modern herbal practices. “We also have a line of tinctures that is called gemmotherapy, which is from more westernized medicine as well,” Moosomin explained. One example is sea buckthorn, which she describes as “sunshine in a bottle” because of its natural wellness benefits. “It helps stabilize your mood, it helps give you vitamin C, and it’s all natural,” she said. A central ingredient in the company’s products is bison tallow, chosen because of its ancestral importance. She explained that Indigenous peoples used the entire bison, including the tallow for food and skincare and the hide for clothing. “It’s a very big component to our culture,” she said. Sacred Earth Extracts also focuses on education through workshops and community events. “We just want to get clean living and clean products to everyone in the community,” Moosomin said. The workshops teach people how to make their own products while reconnecting with traditional ways of living. “They don’t just have to buy from us, but they can make it at home,” she said. The company emphasizes clean ingredients, including natural preservatives. “Every part of our product is clean,” Moosomin said. “Even our preservatives are clean. We use elderberry, antioxidant, vitamin E, and kimchi to preserve the products.” Moosomin also credits her business partner, Jenny Johnson, for helping grow Sacred Earth Extracts. “I met her during my healing path, and we are soul sisters and business partners,” she said. “She’s an incredible lady.” Together, the two women have expanded the company as a women-owned and Indigenous-owned business. “With us together, we’ve made this business grow very fast, and we’re very thankful for that,” Moosomin said. Since launching two and a half years ago, Sacred Earth Extracts has grown rapidly and is now available in approximately 25 stores across Canada. The company continues to develop new products, including a potential smudge bomb combining bison tallow with sacred medicines from the medicine wheel. “It’s basically going to be ceremony on the go,” Moosomin said. Her connection to plants and the land continues to guide her work. “There’s a plant out there for any sort of healing that you need,” she said. She explained that traditional plant knowledge continues to offer lessons about wellness, including the use of willow bark for headaches and cedar baths for cleansing. “It’s just amazing how every single plant, not only plants but mushrooms too [offer healing lessons],” she said. “that there’s something for every sort of illness or ailment.”
Sacred Earth Extracts: Karen Moosomin Blends Healing, Culture and Entrepreneurship
