"There has been a great deal of development and change in Aboriginal communities since 1966, the year the Hawthorn Report was released. The Hawthorn Report examined about 17 different Indian communities across the country and documented their social and economic conditions in the early 1960s. The report lays out contemporary social thinking about how these communities ought to be developed and what strategies the Government of Canada ought to follow. The report's main idea is to treat Indians as citizens plus.
"....document, examine, and reflect on the transitions in Aboriginal society that I see going on around me. As a society, we are starting to move away from the time of great pain and to lay the foundations for what I have come to call "modern Aboriginal society." Across the country, I see a strong desire to build Aboriginal communities on a foundation of Aboriginal tradition, custom, and ideas. Accomplishing this goal is difficult as a result of our position as Aboriginal peoples as a small minority within an environment dominated by western ideas.
"This paper sketches a view of Aboriginal economies and their development over the next twenty years. It focuses on three fundamental questions: (1) What do Aboriginal economies look like now? (2) What are the critical factors that need to be considered for their development? (3) What are possible scenarios for Aboriginal economic development?"
"This article brings needed attention to the process of structural change in Aboriginal communities, which has been largely neglected in current policy and practice on economic development and good governance. New research strongly suggests that generalized trust (social capital), and a capacity to discuss rather than suppress conflict (social cohesion), are crucial to long-term success in economic development and self- government.
"One of the limitations of economic development - with its emphasis on unlimited growth - is that it is pursued without any considerations as to its implications on ecosystems. The prevailing economic theories treat the economic process from a purely mechanistic standpoint. Different ways exist, however, to deal with the choices that humans have to make with respect to the allocation of resources, the distribution of its returns and the fulfilment of purposes of material progress.
"Training the Excluded for Work is an important contribution to debates about the importance and viability of job training policies and programmes that are directed to those who are "excluded" in the Canadian labour market. It is also timely insofar as job training, in contrast to post-secondary education policy, remains somewhat under examined in Canada. This is particularly ironic, as job training has emerged as a key issue for policy makers, industry, workers and activists.
"Founded by Professors Stephen Cornell and Joseph P. Kalt at Harvard University in 1987, The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development (The Harvard Project) aims to understand and foster the conditions under which sustained, self-determined, social and economic development may be achieved among American Indian nations. The project has become something of a benchmark for current discussion of First Nations economic development.
"The following is the keynote address of Chief Billy Diamond presented at the Fourth Annual General Assembly of the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (CANDO), which took place in Montreal, September 25 to 27, 1997. Chief Diamond's speech was both timely and moving. In it he is direct and honest highlighting - in no uncertain terms - what must happen if economic development is going to have a positive impact on the future of Aboriginal communities in Canada. His message is as vitally important today as it was in 1997.
"Since the early 1970s, Aboriginal communities, policy analysts, and researchers have constructed “urban Aboriginal economic development” as both a domain of strategic intervention and a field of tactical contestation. An integral part of this project has been the creation of a body of academic knowledge about urban Aboriginal peoples and their relationship to the economy.
"Dances with Dependency offers effective strategies to eliminate welfare dependency and help eradicate poverty among indigenous populations. Beginning with an impassioned and insightful portrait of today’s native communities, it connects the prevailing impoverishment and despair directly to a “dependency mindset” forged by welfare economics. To reframe this debilitating mindset, it advocates policy reform in conjunction with a return to native peoples’ 10,000-year tradition of self-reliance based on personal responsibility and cultural awareness."
