International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business (IJESB)
Year of publication:
2005
"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.
"A career-life planning model for use with First Nations people is described. This model uses a communal counseling process and focuses on key components such as connectedness, balance, needs, roles, gifts, and values."
"The research examined the career progression factors of Aboriginal executives in Canada's federal public service to determine whether such factors as development opportunities, job assignments, education levels, mentoring, leadership experience, and networking increase the advancement of Aboriginal people to the executive category within the Canadian federal public service."
"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."
"The start-up and the first in a series of training programs designed to enable youth to start or expand businesses in discussed. The funding for the program was obtained by Kahanawake with an investment from the Department of Industry Canada designed to help youth develop their own businesses through debt financing. Thirteen people completed the course and six loan applications - supported by business plans - were submitted. Five of the loans were approved; and after one and a half years all five businesses are operating.
"The basis for this article is the experience of a number of entrepreneurs at Kahnawake, Quebec. They originally reported what they did in a series of videotaped interviews conducted by Ron Abraira and initiated by Tom O'Connell. These tapes were developed for and are being used as part of an ongoing training program to help those interested in starting or expanding a business in Kahnawake. A range of businesses have been selected, all of which have been operating for at least three years. Morgan's Lobster is a wholesaler of lobsters. Favors is a retailer of party sup- plies.
"One of the significant findings was that entrepreneurship was a career choice selected by man of the youth. This was particularly interesting when taken in the context that Native entrepreneurship (per capita) is lower than those in the rest of North America. Another finding was that Native High Schools provide little, if any, entrepreneurial training or exposure to entrepreneurship as a career choice.
"Economic development is believed critical to improving quality of life in the Innu communities of Sheshatshiu and Utshimassit, where substance abuse, low literacy rates, and living conditions far below national standards persist. The establishment of Innu Development Limited Partnership in 1998 was a decisive move by the Innu to generate business ventures. An impact benefit agreement associated with the Voisey Bay mine project and compensation from a land claim settlement will result in needed resources and business opportunities for the Innu.
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business (IJESB)
Year of publication:
2005
"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.
"A new approach to economic development is emerging among the First Nations in Canada. This approach emphasizes the creation of profitable businesses competing in the global economy. These businesses are expected to help First Nations achieve their broader objectives that include: (i) greater control of activities on their traditional lands, (ii) self-determination, and (iii) an end to dependency through economic self-sufficiency.
