Indigenous business leaders meet against a backdrop of emerging prosperity
Credit to Author: Randy Shore| Date: Sun, 06 Oct 2019 18:00:01 +0000
When Indigenous people begin to leverage their lands and traditional territories, they will be lifted out of poverty permanently, according to Simpcw First Nation business leader Keith Matthew.
“Indigenous people won’t ever be poor again now that we are taking advantage of the opportunities that are out there,” he said.
With court cases and land-use agreements setting the landscape for sustainable development, First Nations businesses are beginning to create wealth as never before.
“We have to monetize those court decisions now,” said Matthew, a councillor and former chief of the Simpcw First Nation. “It’s not enough to bring a case to a successful conclusion, you have to do something with those decisions. We’ve fought hard for our rights and title … now it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get busy.”
A business leader in his community, Matthew is an ambassador for the World Indigenous Business Forum, which will bring 700 delegates and feature speakers from around the world to Vancouver beginning Oct. 8.
Speaker include:
• Tamara Lakomy, an author who grew up in the slums of Mellassine, Tunisia, and saw firsthand the effects of human trafficking. She is an adviser to governments in Africa and Latin America on economic development.
• Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary, a member of the provincial parliament in Nepal who was instrumental in outlawing bonded labour in his home country.
• First Nations business leaders from B.C., such as cannabis entrepreneur Wes Sam, Secwepemc First Nation hemp farmer Steven Teed, and Squamish Nation councillor and negotiator Harold Calla.
“I am especially excited to hear from Dilli Charudhary,” said Rosa Walker, CEO of the Indigenous Leadership Development Institute. “In just 19 years, his people have established their own sustainable businesses, everything from hotels and restaurants, retail. They did that while overcoming poverty and slavery.”
Rosa Walker, CEO of the Indigenous Leadership Development Institute.
A panel on land reconciliation will dig into the experience of Indigenous communities in North America and point the way forward.
“Having a say in how these resources are going to benefit Indigenous people,” said Walker. “In the past they didn’t. The resources were just taken and people were left with nothing.”
Not so much any more.
The Simpcw First Nation already runs a suite of resource development and environmental monitoring businesses.
First Nations business ventures are ramping up across the province especially in sustainable sectors such as agriculture and high-end tourism, said Matthew.
The T’Sou-ke First Nation on Vancouver Island is developing multiple businesses in solar energy, wind energy, growing wasabi and farming oysters.
“We see high-end hotels up the coast and businesses like Takaya Tours in Vancouver,” he said. “There is a great opportunity there because of interest in First Nations culture (from abroad).”
But there are lessons to be learned from Indigenous communities in other parts of the world. Matthew notes that Indigenous people are investing billions of dollars and creating thousands of jobs in places such as New Zealand and the United States.
“They are doing some incredible things in New Zealand, with developments that are creating thousands of jobs,” he said.
South of the border, the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma brings in revenues in excess of $1 billion between it government operations and businesses.