Trade has always been a key part of the Mississaugas economy, the Credit River is so named because it’s an important trade route. By opening a dispensary on unceded urban territory, they are rejecting centuries of economic genocide that has forced indigenous people away from profitable lands.
The Medicine Wheel store proclaims its right to exist on a large sign in the front window. “This store is operated by sovereign people on sovereign land. We are exercising our constitutional and inherent right.” At the bottom of the sign is the seal of the Mississaugas of the Credit.