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Indigenous Business

Associations and industry organizations often have reports, news, and links to further resources. The following are a few of the many associations and organizations associated with Indigenous business and economic development.

Associations and Industry Organizations

CCAB (Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business)
CCAB builds bridges between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples, businesses, and communities through diverse programming, tools, training, network building, major business awards, and national events. Check out, in particular, the CCAB's 2019 Business Reconciliation in Canada Guidebook.

First Nations Major Projects Coalition
A coalition of First Nations formed to examine "i) how ownership of major resource projects on their lands could be facilitated, and ii) how environmental practices can be improved to meet their needs. " Browse the FNMPC site to find economic and environmental documents and tools such as "Indigenous Sustainable Investment: Discussing Opportunities in ESG."

First Peoples Cultural Council
A "First Nations-led Province of British Columbia Crown corporation with a mandate to support the revitalization of Indigenous languages, arts and cultural heritage in British Columbia."

  • Start with the FPCC's First Peoples' Map of BC, an interactive online map featuring over 360 individual Indigenous artists and cultural groups, and 34 Indigenous languages across British Columbia. It also offers pronunciations of place names, information on local Indigenous artists and other cultural information through a mix of videos, images, and more.
  • Check out their other Resources for information on arts, language, and heritage such as a guide to working with elders and a report on costing models for language maintenance, revitalization, and reclamation

Indigenous Works (formerly: Aboriginal Human Resource Council)
Indigenous Works is "committed to increasing Indigenous engagement in the Canadian economy by helping workplaces achieve stellar workplace inclusion performance, employment strategies and partnerships." Start with their Resources page.

First Nations in BC Knowledge Network
This website is a hub for First Nations in British Columbia to share ideas, tools, and best practices on aspects of governance and community development. The site provides access to directories, resources, blog posts, a job bank, etc.

  • The Directory lists First Nations communities, organizations, and partners and may be used to explore, find contacts, or learn more about groups from across BC.
  • The Resource Library provides access to documents and templates that can be learned from, customized and adapted to meet individual community needs.

 

Associations and Industry Organizations Cont'd

 

Indigenous Tourism BC - Corporate Site
A "a non-profit, Stakeholder-based organization that is committed to growing and promoting a sustainable, culturally rich Indigenous tourism industry." Features research resources and insights to help you understand the market, as well as the ITBC Tourism Roadmap: "a resource for Indigenous tourism entrepreneurs, cultural keepers and Indigenous community leaders to navigate the path to launch your tourism idea or strengthen your existing business."

ITAC (Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada)
Although ITAC isn't focused on BC specifically and is unlikely to have much information about specific First Nations communities in BC, it does offer some tools and reports that may prove to fit your needs.

Cando
Founded by Economic Development Officers (EDOs) from Canada in 1990, Cando is a national Indigenous organization involved in community economic development (CED). The organization provides  training, education and networking opportunities, and programs and services to EDOs to help them build capacity and strengthen Indigenous economies.

  • The site's list of Additional Resources provides financial resources, profiles of past CED initiatives, various toolkits and reports, and more.
  • The site's list of Resource Links provides access to other relevant indigenous, government, and nonprofit organizations, all of which are doing work relevant to CED in indigenous communities.

                                                                                                                                                               Source: Simon Fraser University Library