Sister Story...

Yes, we really are sisters! We are best friends and business partners with a mission to create natural products inspired by the herbal wisdom of our Native American culture.

Native Americans have rich and meaningful plant traditions respecting nature's own healing herbs from the Earth. The use of plant botanicals has been part of our lives since childhood. Our grandmothers harvested a variety of plants to make teas, ointments and creams.

Honoring these traditions, we formulate our products with a guiding principle: Infuse botanical ingredients to enhance health and wellness.

Our products share Native American herbal wisdom in an authentic and respectful manner that promotes harmony, balance, education, sustainability and cultural sharing.

We combine natural ingredients to create soothing, healing and wonderfully fragrant body and hair care products!

Our Company...

Mission | Values | History | Press | Made By American Indians | Sister Stories | Native Wisdom

Mission:

Sister Sky's mission is to create natural products inspired by herbal wisdom of Native American culture.

Native Americans have rich and meaningful plant traditions respecting nature's own healing herbs from the Earth.

Honoring these traditions, we formulate our products with a guiding principle: Infuse botanical ingredients to enhance health and wellness.

Sister Sky products share Native American herbal wisdom to a worldwide audience in an authentic and respectful manner that promotes harmony, balance, education, sustainability and cultural sharing.

Values:

Cultural Sharing: Sister Sky is committed to creating products that embrace and enhance the beauty of Native American culture for the purpose of educating and sharing indigenous herbal wisdom with consumers in a sensitive and honorable way.

We believe it's our duty to promote cultural sharing in a positive way by educating consumers about the indigenous essence and spirit of the plant botanicals contained in our products.

We believe "sharing" indigenous herbal wisdom with a worldwide audience of consumers creates a positive impact through education and understanding.

Seven Generations: Sister Sky is committed to protecting and providing for not just this generation but the future seven generations through environmentally and socially responsible business practices.

Positive Economic Impact: Sister Sky is committed to contributing to positive economic impact through sourcing and partnering with other Native American owned businesses for goods and services for the purpose of building diverse and sustainable reservation economies.

Business Leadership: Sister Sky believes positive social change and economic empowerment of Native communities is possible through business ownership. We are committed to serving as positive role models in Native American communities promoting entrepreneurship, socially responsible business development and sustainability through economic diversification.

History of Sister Sky:

1999: Monica Simeon and Marina TurningRobe launch the Sister Sky line of bath and body products at a retail kiosk in Franklin Park Mall, Spokane, WA.

2000: Sister Sky moves its retail operation to a kiosk in Northtown Mall, Spokane, WA.

Sister Sky launches its retail web store.

2001: Sister Sky partners with Tate Technology in Spokane to manufacture the entire product line.

Sister Sky closes retail operations in Spokane and focuses on distributing the line at wholesale trade shows in Seattle and San Francisco.

2003: Sister Sky launches SPA COLLECTION bath amenities for the hotel industry offering indigenous fragrances like Sweet Grass, Cedar and Sage.

2004: Sister Sky is recognized as a registered trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Sister Sky is awarded the Small Business Trustee Leadership Award by Leadership Spokane for outstanding business leadership and achievement in the community.

2006: Sister Sky is awarded the Entrepreneurial Rising Star Award by the Business Women's Network for outstanding accomplishments on behalf of women & minority entrepreneurs.

2007: Sister Sky expands the company by building a fully automated manufacturing facility on tribal land.

Sister Sky is certified as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) by the National Minority Supplier Development Council.

Sister Sky collaborates with the Spokane Tribal 477 Employment and Training Program and employs and trains tribal youth at the manufacturing facility.

Sister Sky receives a "small business make over" by FORTUNE Small Business Magazine. A team of experts and a reporter travel to the tribal manufacturing facility to round table with the sisters and offer advice on marketing, financing and manufacturing to assist the company in launching the brand nationally.

2008: Sister Sky is awarded the Tribal Business of the Year Award by the American Indian Business Leaders Association.

Sister Sky receives national press and is featured in the January issue of FORTUNE Small Business magazine and on the CNN/Money website.

Sister Sky is approved to use the "Made by American Indians" trademark by the Intertribal Agriculture Council.

Peak Video produces Sister Sky's company DVD "A Sisters Story." And the video appears on YouTube.

Made By American Indians:

Sister Sky is approved by the Intertribal Agriculture Council to use the "Made by American Indians" trademark on the company's herbal bath and body care products.

Sister Sky manufactures lotion, shampoo, conditioner and body wash at a production facility on tribal land. "We are proud to say our product is made in Native America. Now we can display the trademark on our products. The trademark is a symbol of authenticity," said Monica Simeon.

The "Made by American Indians" trademark assists consumers in identifying authentic American Indian produced goods.

According to the United States Department of Commerce, as much as 20% of the estimated $1 billion spent annually on Indian goods is spent on fake imitations not produced by Native Americans.

"Sister Sky products are inspired by Native American herbal wisdom. Our unique formulas contain nature's own healing herbs from the Earth. We tell the plant tradition stories on each product in a way that promotes cultural sharing, so the use of this trademark will validate to the consumer what they're buying is real," said partner, Marina TurningRobe.

The "Made by American Indians" trademark was registered with the U.S. Patent Office in January of 1995. The authority for licensing the use of the trademark is vested in the Intertribal Agriculture Council of Billings, Montana.

According to the Intertribal Agriculture Council, the "Made by American Indians" trademark should serve as an expression of tradition, culture and pride. Through increased use of the trademark on Indian products, Native American producers will begin to realize a larger market share while the consumer will gain a heightened awareness of the meaning of the trademark.

"When you see the "Made by American Indians" trademark on Sister Sky products in retail stores, you'll know what you are buying is both unique and authentic," said Simeon.