Nation and Place Based Economies Panel
This video and blog is part of a series sharing the themes from ICA's "Reclaiming the Sacred" Indigenous Economics online conference held June 10-12 2021. This conference was held in partnership with the Canadian Society for Ecological Economics.
Alexis shared her experience as a Native Entrepreneur transforming capitalism. Native business holders have to work with the system, which is not working because native business owners face that non-indigenous business do not face, including:
Internal colonization
Bootstrapping
Education
Culture Capital
Accessing Services
Marketing Marketplace
Accessing Influential Networks
Broader Structural Issues
Alexis recommended reinvigorating the knowledge of ancestors: to look to our ancestral economies. Cultures and nations are so diverse; some of their economies included structures similar to capitalism (alongside other ideologies and worldviews). Some of their economies included what might today be defining socialism. We need to come up with our own vision and terms that takes a third path away from the linear continuum with capitalism at one end and socialism at another.
Chief Commissioner Manny Jules talked about his longstanding assertion that Indigenous communities need to have fiscal and jurisdiction power rather than continue to be dependent on federal government. In Canada, the federal government has made it very difficult and complex to gain that independence and sovereignty. He also offered historical education about the impact of Duncan Campbell Scott, who was behind the policies that formed the residential school system. Surviving the genocide initiated by these policies, C.C. Jules said it is time for an Indigenous-led new way of creating wealth and maintaining health. He shared powerful stories related to residential school survivors, families, and the impact of colonialism on communities that transcends state borders.
Chief Commissioner Jules also emphasized that there is hope through stories and empowering young people: “Stories of hope, stories of dreams, stories of renewal, and stories of tomorrow.”
Zain Nayani talked about his work with Nlaka’paux, made of 15 distinct indigenous communities (previously 69), spanning both sides of Fraser River. The communities were restricted to the reserve created in 1866, located in Fraser canyon, approximately 3 hrs. from Vancouver. The people have lived here for 8000 years and their presence is confirmed by archaeological evidence.
The community managed the land and resources for future generations, protocols codified into 4 steps.
Do it Right
Take what you need, no more
If you take it in, take it out
Clean up after yourself
Zain shared details and processes related to the development of community engagement and resilience plans to be self-sustaining and future minded. Many of the initiatives he described were related to themes of Just Transition, Healing Justice, and Place-Based Economies.
What you can do:
Readings
A Call for Attention by Alexis Bunten https://www.sfu.ca/ipinch/sites/default/files/bunten_acallforattention.pdf
Memory, Loss, and Sorrow for the community of Kanaka Bar by Chief Patrick Mitchell of Kanaka Bar Band http://www.kanakabarband.ca/files/memory-loss-and-sorrow-written-first-in-2010.pdf
CC Manny Jules recommended that Indigenous nations prioritize connecting with and learning from Indigenous peoples everywhere, who have also been impacted by colonialism, to lend a helping hand and build alliances.
Speaker Biographies:
Alexis Bunten, (Unangan/Yup’ik) co-directs the Bioneers Indigeneity Program and consults in mixed methods research and cross cultural communications. Alexis’ areas of expertise include Indigenous economic development, organizational decolonization, and cross-cultural communications. She holds a PhD in Anthropology from UCLA, and has taught at UCLA, and Humboldt State University. Alexis completed Postdoctoral fellowships at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz, and served as an invited scholar in residence at University of Victoria Auckland, and the Sorbonne University, Paris.
Alexis has received nominations and awards from the US National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Bristol Bay Native Corporation, and the Native American Film and Television Awards, among many others. In addition to publishing widely about Indigenous and environmental issues in academic and mainstream media outlets, Alexis’ 2015 book, “So, how long have you been Native?” Life as an Alaska Native Tour Guide” won the Alaska Library Association Award for its originality, and depth. The follow up anthology, “Indigenous Tourism Movements,” was published by the University of Toronto Press in 2018. Alexis lives in Monterey, California with her husband, daughter, 3 dogs and a cat.
Chief Commissioner Manny Jules has dedicated over 40 years of his life to public service in support of Aboriginal issues. He is a member of the Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc, formerly known as Kamloops Indian Band, and served as Chief from 1984 to 2000. Mr. Jules led the amendment to the Indian Act in 1988 so that First Nations could exercise the jurisdiction to levy property taxes on-reserve. The Indian Taxation Advisory Board (ITAB) and the current First Nation property tax system were created as a result of his vision and efforts. Mr. Jules served as Chair of ITAB from 1989 to 2003 and 2005 to 2007. He was the driving force behind the First Nations Fiscal Management Act, passed by Parliament in 2005, creating the First Nations Tax Commission and the fiscal institutions. On November 11, 2006 Mr. Jules was appointed Chief Commissioner of the First Nations Tax Commission. Mr. Jules was the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from both the University of British Columbia in 1997 and Thompson Rivers University in 2006, the Order of British Columbia in 2009, and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal in 2013. Mr. Jules is also a member of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business Hall of Fame.
Zain Nayani Born in a hard-working Ismaili family in Karachi, Pakistan, Zain Nayani’s interest in numbers and curiosity about commerce led him to gaining a B.Sc. in Applied Accounting and experience working in internal audit, finance, and administrative departments of various organizations. In 2011, Zain relocated from Pakistan to Coast Salish Territory (Vancouver) to pursue his Master of Business Administration at Simon Fraser University. After moving to Canada and witnessing Indigenous peoples living with the consequences of colonization and ongoing systemic oppression, he was deeply affected, especially as someone from a previously colonized country himself. To gain better understanding of the issues and be part of the solution, Zain immersed himself as an intern, working with T'eqt''aqtn'mux (Kanaka Bar Band). Driven by his passion to work with communities who want to become self-sufficient while challenging the status-quo in the wake of climate crisis, Zain established ZN Advisory in 2013, a consulting practice that partners with Indigenous communities and organizations, to build resilient systems through offering governance, strategy and planning, management, and capacity building services.
Zain has held senior leadership and management positions in various Indigenous organizations. He is a Visiting Lecturer at the Beedie School of Business (SFU) and served as member of British Columbia’s Indigenous Climate Adaptation Technical Working Group. Zain is an Affiliate of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and has been a Fellow since 2017. He is also a Member of Chartered Professional Accountants of BC and Canada and a Certified Aboriginal Financial Manager through AFOA Canada.
