Minnetonka has been a family-run company since its founding in 1946. Four generations in, we are proud of the business we have built and humbled by the decades-long loyalty of so many of our customers. However, we would like to directly address two questions that have often been asked of us (rightfully so): Is Minnetonka Native-owned? Does Minnetonka support Native American people or causes?

Minnetonka is not a Native-owned business. When we started in 1946, Minnetonka was one of many companies who sold handcrafted moccasins and Native-inspired accessories to roadside gift shops.

We recognize that our original products, some of which are still sold today, have been appropriated from Native American culture. Not just the products have been appropriated; we have also come to learn that even the word “moccasin” is an anglicization of the Ojibwe word “makizinan.” We first publicly acknowledged our appropriation in the summer of 2020, but it was long overdue. We deeply and meaningfully apologize for having benefited from selling Native-inspired designs without directly honoring Native culture or communities. While Minnetonka has evolved beyond our original product set, moccasins remain a core part of our brand, and in 2020 we began to step up our commitment to the culture to which we owe so much. We are dedicated to honoring our commitment to Native American communities with our actions going forward.

For many years, we have privately supported Native causes in our home state of Minnesota — but simply giving back is not enough. We are taking a more active and public stance in supporting Native communities.

We have been listening to and learning from voices in the Native community to live up to and expand upon the action plan we originally developed in fall of 2020. We are grateful to our Native American advisors, who continually provide valuable insight and counsel on our plans and the specifics of its execution. To deepen our commitment, we have hired one of our advisors, Adrienne Benjamin, to be our Reconciliation Advisor. Adrienne is an artist and community activist who is Anishinaabe and a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. She has been an integral part of Minnetonka’s commitment planning. Click here to read more about our partnership with Adrienne in her own words.

Together with the insight from our advisors, we have created a plan with five key commitments to the Native American community. Here are the steps we’ve taken in the last year and insight into where we’re headed: