Entrepreneurship

“The Young Millionaires Program is a summer business and entrepreneurship program for youth aged 8 to 16 years. The program is designed to assist youth to discover more about the world of business and help them get started in a business of their own.”

"This paper adds to our knowledge base, by: (1) describing the prevailing views on Aboriginal small business and entrepreneurship; (2) defining small business and entrepreneurship in general terms; (3) describing the current state of First Nation entrepreneurship and small business 
development in Canada; (4) listing and discussing some of the challenges that First Nation small business owners and 
entrepreneurs in Canada face, and providing ideas and avenues for the enhanced support 
and promotion of those entrepreneurs thinking about starting a small business; and (5) highlighting and dis

“While the growth of Aboriginal organizations over the past two decades, “has had both a political and social [and economic] impact on Canadian society…. little has been written about these organizations and the role they have played in the development of Canada.” To remedy this situation, a number of analysts, research institutions, and community managers and leaders have started to piece together a useful picture of the history, development, growth, and the day-to-day operation of these organizations.”

"This paper focuses on the interaction between social capital and entrepreneurship in Aboriginal communities in Canada. Using statistical and interview data from three First Nations communities in northern Ontario, I examine if and how bonding networks turn into tangible resources for business development. The paper also highlights ways in which community relationships hinder entrepreneurship and turn into barriers to economic development.

"Aboriginal people are seeking to regain control over their traditional lands and resources. Among other things, they expect these land and resources to form the foundation upon which they can rebuild their economies and communities. Aboriginal people want to pursue this development on their own terms. However many realise that success requires effective competition in the global economy and this in turn requires capacity beyond land and resource. One method of acquiring the needed capacity is through alliances with non-aboriginal corporations.

"Throughout the middle decades of the 20th Century Indigenous people were the target of efforts to assist in economic development. In large part these externally developed, modernisation based efforts failed. In response, a second wave of Indigenous development has emerged; one in which Indigenous peoples are striving to rebuild their ‘nations’ and improve their lot through economic development ‘on their own terms’. Key to this approach is the pursuit by Indigenous people of the recognition of their rights to their traditional lands and resources.

Article describes how economic participation must be on their own terms and for their own purposes. Also, traditional lands, history, culture and values all play a critical role in economic development. In order to attempt to compete in the global economy on their own terms, Indigenous people are using all types of partnerships, both among themselves and with non-Indigenous enterprises. A case study of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band is used as they are recognized as one of the leaders in economic development in Canada.

"The first section of this chapter provides a description of the socioeconomic circumstances of Aboriginal people in Canada and the approach to improving these circumstances that began to emerge among them during the closing decades of the 20th Century. As that material shows, entrepreneurship has played a key role in the approach, and it will continue to do so. The second and third sections of the paper examine this approach in more depth.

"Indigenous people are struggling to reassert their nationhood within the post-colonial states in which they find themselves. Claims to their traditional lands and the right to use the resources of these lands are central to their drive to nationhood. Traditional lands are the ‘place’ of the nation and are inseparable from the people, their culture, and their identity as a nation.

"This report provides evidence that Aboriginal women and other marginalized women can be supported more fully to participate, lead and grow self-employment initiatives and entrepreneurial enterprises in Canada."