Indigenous Government in Canada: Reconciling a Long History of Colonialism - Essay Sample

Introduction

Indigenous people have been practicing their forms of government since time immemorial before the European and other settlers arrived in what is currently Canada. These systems of government are a reflection of the social, economic, and geographic diversity of indigenous people. It is also a demonstration of their spiritual beliefs and cultural practices. The Canadian government is working to reconcile with the indigenous people, a step that is necessary to address a long history of colonialism and the adverse impacts it left on the country. As such, it led to the formation of self-government, which is also viewed as dialogues with indigenous communities. Through self-government, the Aboriginal people can make decisions regarding how to educate their students, protect their language and culture, develop new business partnerships, manage their lands, and even create jobs. However, all these are not done effectively. The Aboriginal self-government has not fully achieved the goals of Aboriginal people in Canada concerning economic development.

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The federal government is a significant contributor to the economic development of Aboriginal people in Canada through their programs and regulatory functions. As such, the plans have assisted numerous successful Aboriginal businesses and further assisted in the development of institutional arrangements. Concerning supporting the Aboriginal businesses, the federal government assisted in the formation, enhancement, or expansion of their operations. On the other hand, support for institutional arrangements that facilitate the economic development of the Aboriginals entails the development or solidification of guidelines and organizations that form the right structures (Hotte et al 5).

Self-Government is a crucial aspect of the Aboriginal people. It has established a comprehensive set of institutional arrangements for economic development to occur. As such, the self-government major economic development activities are in natural resources. Through the self-government, laws, and regulations have been created to govern the land, fisheries, forest resources, and wildlife, among others. As such, departments have been established to manage each of the pointed resource areas. The departments comprise planning and where it is appropriate, licenses and permits are issued (Halseth et al).

The institutional arrangements have also seen business support programs assist numerous prosperous initiatives. It has been undertaken by support from the federal government which issues funds to support business programs. On the other hand, the value and significance of institutional arrangements have been identified by the federal government in promoting economic development. The community economic development organizations funded by the federal government programs have become quite relevant in the attainment of economic growth. Also, it ensures that community development is broadly supported. Moreover, it is necessary to note that the federal government on a sector basis has recognized that the burden imposed by the central management of Aboriginals can be minimized. As such, this can be undertaken by assisting them in developing institutional arrangements and thus, able to manage resources. When the institutional arrangements are well designed, they can overcome issues of accountability, transparency, or even possible misallocation of resources (Krupa et al 86).

The self-government arrangement for the Aboriginal people also concentrates on other economic activities, which are the development of properties, agriculture, and businesses owned by the community. Most of these are found off-reserve. Some of the companies are owned jointly, and the Aboriginal people are the ones in charge of their management and operation. Through the economic development department, financial assistance and advisory services are issued to individuals (Sefa Dei and Restoule 7). In this way, they can expand their businesses. It is important to note that the self-government is just a step to the empowerment of the Aboriginals to rebuild themselves.

Economic outcomes for the Aboriginal people have been improving significantly. There has been an increase in labor force participation, self-employment, and earned income. Also, chances for Aboriginal economic development have been quite substantial. There is an increase in private investment in every region of the country and an obvious concern on the section of the non-Aboriginal private sector to work with the Aboriginal communities and businesses (Belanger). As such, the priority for self-government is economic development, which is also viewed as a crucial step to enhance the lives of the Aboriginal people and their families as well.

Entrepreneurial leadership has been on the rise as a result of the self-government. New generations of Aboriginal leaders who are business-oriented and even gradually identify economic development as a way of autonomy for their societies and people have been observed. There are Aboriginal businesses which are owned privately and by the community. These businesses are prominent in the renewable and non-renewable resource segments. Besides, they are becoming increasingly active across various industrial sectors that include ground and air transportation, financial services, and the production and distribution of consumer goods. Furthermore, the Aboriginal self-government has developed an interest in the private sector, which is then identifying incredible economic prospective of the Aboriginal people (Krupa et al 83).

Despite the emerging trends and new factors, it is vital to note that self-government has still not been able to attain a similar economic outcome of Aboriginal people as the non-Aboriginals. There is still a high unemployment rate of the Aboriginal people and even lower individual outcomes. As such, more than twice, Aboriginals live in poverty as compared to the non-Aboriginals. The self-government of Aboriginals is intended to give people greater control over economic, political, social, and cultural affairs within their societies (Sefa Dei and Restoule 4). Also, self-government is a way for them to preserve their culture and acquire greater control over their resources, land, and administration of laws and practices that affect their lives. However, this has not been the case since the Aboriginals still need the federal government's support to ensure the success of the political, social, economic, and cultural affairs (Vining and Richards 6).

Aboriginal people face specific barriers when striving to attain economic development. One of these is an obstruction to access the right resources which are crucial to economic development. The lands that neighbor the Aboriginals have been observed to be the responsibility of the provinces and developed without their participation. As such, the utilization of resources found in these territories can interrupt their traditional economic activities such as fishing. There is also the issue of policies that have hindered the proper use of land by the Aboriginals. On the other hand, for one to invest in economic development activities, it is essential to have capital. Lack of capital access means that there will be few or no investments in the economy. Most of the Aboriginal people have issues accessing capital due to uncertainty on how to secure them and the legal status of organizations offering them as well (Kuokkanen 16). As a result, Aboriginal people are not able to fully exploit the various investment opportunities.

Institutional arrangements are not being built appropriately due to lack of resources. The federal government has been purported to offer minimal support for institutional arrangements in the early stages of economic development. The Aboriginal people have limited resources and as such, can only put appropriate institutional arrangements after there has been a significant development. It has further been observed that the Aboriginals usually have to utilize some of their revenues to institute and uphold institutional arrangements that support their economic development. After they have established them, it is then vital to have assistance when managing the early development stages. The formation of the institutional arrangements has also been observed to reduce obstacles to their economic development and give them better confidence for investors (Hotte et al 12).

Another issue hindering the economic development of the Aboriginal people is skilled labor. The job readiness of Aboriginal communities is a crucial issue and especially the need for enhanced knowledge and essential skills development and industry-specific job training. These are receptive to the needs of the private sector. There is also a deficit in capacity. The Aboriginal businesses, institutions, and political leaders need the tools and ability to identify and pursue economic chances. Enhancements to community development programs and the Aboriginal institutional arrangements are necessary. It includes support for long-term planning and promptness to access expert advice (Belanger).

It is fundamental to have a new whole-of-government approach that responds to new and changing economic conditions and rising opportunities. Also, the plan should seek to leverage partnerships to attain sustainable economic development. On the other hand, it is fundamental to analytically evaluate, target, and enlarge economic opportunities for Aboriginal resources. The prevailing conceptions of economic development are that it depends on robust location, resource awards, and achievement of education levels among the population (Altman et al). However, these are not fundamental factors for most Aboriginal communities. Their economic development is instead reliant on self-government and culturally suitable resources as well as tactical alignment. The Crow Nation in Montana has a stable location with abundant natural resources and a comparatively large population with high levels of education. However, they have deficient economic development levels, and their annual revenue is far from what their human capital and resource would be expected (Halseth et al 66). As such, it is apparent that strategic planning is required even as community planning elements are combined with economic development.

The Aboriginal self-government has not fully achieved the goals of Aboriginal people in Canada concerning economic development. The essay has depicted that the federal government is a significant contributor to the economic development of Aboriginal people through programs and regulatory functions. However, the self-government has not been able to attain a similar economic outcome of the Aboriginal people despite the emerging trends and new factors. There is still a high unemployment rate and lower individual results. Also, the Aboriginals face obstruction to access the right resources for economic development. It is thus necessary to have a new whole-of-government approach that responds to new and changing economic conditions and rising opportunities. Besides, the Aboriginal businesses, institutions, and political leaders need the tools and capacity to identify and pursue economic chances. In this way, most of the barriers to economic development will be minimized or eradicated.

Works Cited

Altman, Jon, L. Larsen, and G. J. Buchanan. "The environmental significance of the Indigenous estate: natural resource management as economic development in remote Australia." (2018).

Belanger, Yale Deron. Ways Of Knowing: An Introduction To Native Studies In Canada. 3rd ed., Nelson Education Indigenous, 2010.

Halseth, Greg, Julia Schwamborn, and Ray Gerow. Understanding Indigenous Economic Development in Northern, Rural, and Remote Settings: Frameworks for Change (Workshop November 24-25, 2010). Community Development Instit...