"First Nations' communities have been a major focus for the long history of colonial action in Canada. The results have been disastrous for Native cultural, identity and pride. Four major community institutions – political, economic, religious and educational and the family – have been devastated.
"A training project in a northern Canadian community provided an opportunity to examine participatory planning approaches and the meaning of work in First Nations communities. Focus groups conducted three years after the unsuccessful intervention of a community economic development (CED) project suggest that complex factors such as lack of support from community leaders and rate of pay for workers determine whether CED is always appropriate in northern, First Nations contexts."
