Land

"Membertou’s impressive economic growth and self-sufficiency over the past 15 years has underlined the limitations of the Indian Act in defining citizens and restricting development due to regulations on land use."

"Five Pillars of Effective Governance is now available as a PDF booklet and can be viewed at fngovernance.org/pillars. Learn about The People, The Land, Laws & Jurisdiction, Institutions, Resources – pillars for developing effective, independent First Nations governance. The booklet introduces a key set of principles that helps to blend traditional values with the modern realities of self-governance. These principles, developed in think tanks and dialogue with indigenous governance experts, form the foundation for NCFNG’s philosophy and services. "

"The essay summarizes the authors study Sovereignty, Credible Commitments, and Economic Prosperity on American Indian Reservations, which measures the crippling economic consequences resulting from the lack of private property rights on Indian reserves."

"There are four different but overlapping regimes of private-property rights-customary rights, certificates of possession, land codes under the First Nations Land Management Act, and leases-already exist on reserves across Canada, as do several unique regimes, such as the Sechelt and Nisga'a cases. These various regimes are worthy of serious study by economists, lawyers, and political scientists with a view to establishing how well they work and how they might be perfected for the benefit of First Nations."

"In this article, I argue that labor researchers in North America need to engage more thoroughly with Indigenous studies if they hope to advance social and environmental justice. First, I suggest that researchers approach Aboriginal peoples’ relationships to the environment by supporting Aboriginal rights to lands and resources. Second, and related to this point, I raise the issue of the need for Aboriginal-controlled development in northern Aboriginal communities.

"In this report we seek to clarify some of the uncertainty and questions around land use studies and to consider how information about Aboriginal use and occupancy of lands can be better integrated into forest management. The report is based on a review of nearly 100 studies and documented experiences of Aboriginal land use studies, supported by workshops bringing together researchers and practitioners representing Aboriginal peoples, forestry companies, and governments."

"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.

"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.

"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.