A Seat at the Table...

by Carol Anne Hilton, MBA, ICD.D

Vancouver Island regional Indigenous business growth has seen a significant uptick in recent years. With a constantly evolving legal domain, this context lays the foundation for the dynamic of increasing Indigenous business participation. Multiple contributing factors are establishing a new economic foothold for First Nations on Vancouver Island, who have long felt the impacts of economic displacement across generations. Today is a time of the calling for our collective leadership to respond to the return of Indigenous peoples taking our rightful seats at the economic table of the region.

A common economic space is being shaped through the application of B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), a law that is implementing the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). This is an important moment in economic reconciliation. Every single sector should be engaging in the implementation of the UNDRIP DRIPA law and Call to Action 92. This is the journey from invisibility to inclusivity of Indigenous Peoples as economic reconciliation establishes the foundation for building an inclusive economy. Economic reconciliation is the process of creating and facilitating meaningful partnerships and mutually beneficial opportunities to support Indigenous economic prosperity and inclusion.

The Land Back movement is increasing in momentum with pressures from a legal land settlement as well as settler re-designating title. This growing movement is establishing clear pathways for land restoration that include both economic and cultural values for Indigenous communities. Some recent examples from the Vancouver Island region:

• In 2023, an ancient village site was returned to Snuneymuxw First Nation in a historic transfer of 102 acres of land by a local development company. “True acts of reconciliation, like those being celebrated today, recognize the deep connection of synonymic people to their land and support the continued rebuilding and strengthening of the nation’s social, cultural, spiritual and economic well-being,” said Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP Lisa Marie Barron . Chief Wyse (Snuneymuxw First Nation) identified that the land transfer process honours the Douglas Treaty signed more than 160 years ago. The treaty was intended to preserve and protect villages, enclosed fields, and waterways of the Snuneymuxw, as well as their rights to harvest & gather, and to hunt & fish.
• In 2022, the Wei Wai Kum First Nation and the B.C. government signed an incremental treaty agreement that will return to the nation, more than 22 square kilometres of its territorial land. Incremental agreements ensure First Nations and the Province establish shared economic benefits including forestry tenures, in advance of a final agreement.
• While there are many to choose from, a final example of the Land Back mechanism occurred, when in 2022, a local Saanich family donated 18.5 hectares of land back to the WSáNE? Lands Trust Society through the federal Ecological Gifts Program (EGP). The program was established in 1995 as a way for Canadians with ecologically-sensitive land to donate it to a qualified recipient in exchange for tax benefits.

There are key examples of partnerships and businesses advancing the Indigenous economic field across this region and disrupting the status quo.

Cascadia Seaweed produces seaweed for crops and cattle products, developing nature-based solutions to climate change and food security. Cascadia cultivates seaweed species in this region on low-impact ocean farms in partnership with local First Nations and ensures that recognition of operating on the traditional territories of the coastal First Nations of BC is central to its business. By working collaboratively with First Nation partners, Cascadia creates mutually beneficial agreements based on each community’s needs, interests, and capacity.

The Indigenous Prosperity Centre (IPC) is a recently established collaborative organization committed to the self-directed economic vision of local Indigenous communities and organizations on southern Vancouver Island. The indigenous-led IPC serves to strengthen the entire economic ecosystem. The organization’s founding premise is that a truly successful economy is an inclusive economy. Established through the work of the South Island Prosperity Partnership , the IPC is an outcome of pandemic response planning and a coordinated approach to regional Indigenous economic development. The IPC will be a key player in driving local Indigenous prosperity and connection to economic opportunities and workforce development.

Another great example of disruption of the status quo is the work of the South Island Reciprocity Trust. Reciprocity is the practice of building relationships through exchanging things of value over time for mutual benefit. The Reciprocity website describes the concept this way: “Reciprocity is about making recognition of Indigenous land rights more meaningful by facilitating connections between home and business owners, renters and event planners with the Indigenous Nations whose lands we live, work, and play on.” The work of Reciprocity focuses on establishing a structure where Indigenous Nations can see tangible results that landowners, businesses, and those living and working in the local territories can choose to recognize Indigenous lands and Indigenous rights through a payment contribution structure. While optional, these payments would provide an opportunity for property and business owners, renters, and event planners to acknowledge Indigenous lands and Indigenous rights by returning wealth over time through a direct and ongoing Indigenous-owned revenue stream.

Mirroring a national trend: the significant increase in Indigenous-owned clean energy projects, the Malahat Nation is undertaking a new and innovative project for testing solar panels embedded in pavement. Energy independence, sustainable energy and economic development opportunities are all drivers of this innovation. The Nation has established a partnership with Vancouver-based companies Shift Clean Energy and Solar Earth Technologies. The panels will supply the local nation's government offices with solar energy. The project while innovative in nature, also highlights Indigenous value of sustainability.

These are a few examples of the new face of indigenous economic power in this region. In response to regional Indigenous economic growth, new lines of inquiry and data should be established. From a business and economic perspective, collectively, let’s ask: How are we upholding the Douglas Treaties? What does implementation of DRIPA look like in our sector? How can we help? What do we need to be learning? What data will give us regional insight into Indigenous economic growth?

Reconciliation must happen in the supply chain of B.C. and Canada. It is time we collectively sit down at the economic table and examine the foundation of Indigenous economic power. It is time to build our collective response to economic reconciliation, sector by sector, business by business. This is Indigenomics in action.