According to media reports this week, the federal Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) is undertaking a project to review best practices on the nation’s Indian reserves. Officials made a list of Canada’s 65 most economically successful aboriginal communities and is sending a senior official to meet with 33 chiefs. The goal is to uncover the secret to the reserves’ success, and use this knowledge to help struggling communities.
A good idea? Not according to some aboriginal leaders. Apparently, one of the key ways native communities have overcome poverty is through profitable management of on-reserve projects such as resorts, industrial parks and condominium developments. Some chiefs claim that the DIAND study constitutes a covert attempt to multiply such successes by introducing the concept of private property ownership throughout aboriginal lands.
We can only hope such “fears” will be fully realized.
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