When you walk into Loretta’s Wellness Circle, shop owner and Indigenous consultant Loretta Tuttauk (or one of her shop staff) will immediately offer you a cup of tea, invite you to smudge and engage you in conversation.
“In the Cree language, we say ‘tawâw,’ which means, ‘Welcome, we’ve made space for you here,’” she says. “I was raised with the value that it’s really important to leave someone feeling better than the way you found them.” Through a storefront intentionally designed to welcome everyone, and her offering of wellness products with healing and medicinal properties, it’s clear that Tuttauk is honouring her upbringing.
Located on 10th Avenue S.W., minutes from the Sunalta CTrain station, Loretta’s Wellness Circle opened its doors in 2024. Inside the cozy space, shoppers can browse smudge sprays, candles, lotions, lip balms and other wellness products.
Although the physical shop is new, Tuttauk has been creating such products for decades; she also offers Indigenous consulting and wellness workshops.
“I felt a community need when it came to some of the understanding within reconciliation, economic reconciliation, and how we can work, move forward, play and continue in a way with Indigenous teachings and with Indigenous people,” she says.
Tuttauk intentionally uses written Cree language on her products and in her store as a way of revitalizing the language and opening up conversations around it. “It creates connections, and then it almost flips the conversation to a more understanding-based one, as opposed to focusing on what we’ve lost,” she says.
Tuttauk’s products — all handmade and created in smudge ceremony using the sacred medicines sage, sweetgrass and cedar — are divided into themed series, including Nanâskomowin (the gratitude series) or the Kiyâm series, which loosely translates to “let it be.”
“Everything here has a story, just like Indigenous people do,” says Tuttauk. “Teachings, concepts and perspectives — everything was created with intention using nourishing, natural products.”
With a focus on holistic wellness, each product has more than one purpose. Many serve a primary role such as hydrating the skin or cleaning hair, but items like the candles also come with medicines, crystals and essential oils to help with other targeted areas of wellness, depending on what you’re looking for. Almost certainly, everyone who visits Tuttauk in her warm, welcoming space leaves feeling better than when they entered.
1603 10 Ave. S.W., 587-226-0213, lorettaswellnesscircle.com