Indigenous Business in Canada

Keith G.Brown, Janice Esther Tulk, Keith G. Brown, Janice Esther Tulk

• Publisher: Cape Breton University Press
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781772060461
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Development Economics
• Index: Economics

Students who study business in university are not likely to hear about or discuss examples of indigenous business successes from across the country. Rarely would one see references to indigenous communities, let alone examples of them growing multi-million dollar businesses and partnering to lead innovative economic development projects that positively impact the national economy. Resources are scarce and inadequate, an oversight that is to our detriment.Somewhere between a textbook and a book of collected essays, this collection is an effort to build on and share the research of indigenous practitioners and scholars working in their respective fields. Where possible we share not only concepts, but also the voices of Aboriginal leaders, officials, Elders, and other members of Aboriginal communities. Indigenous Business in Canada addresses contemporary concerns and issues in the doing of Aboriginal business in Canada, reveals some of the challenges and diverse approaches to business in indigenous contexts from coast to coast to coast, and demonstrates the direct impact that history and policy, past and present, have on business and business education.

Chapter 1

Prior to colonial encounter, Aboriginal communities thrived with subsistence economies that featured redistributive or “gift economy” practices. Their social structures were kinship-based, and could be matrilineal, patrilineal, or egalitarian. When European explorers and settlers arrived in the so-called New World, they relied on the knowledge of Aboriginal peoples and adapted pre-existing indigenous trade routes for their own purposes. The subsequent commercial fur trade increased Aboriginal reliance on trading posts for goods, and resulted in a shift from a trade to a monetary exchange system. Consequently, there was a shift from a subsistence economy to a capitalist economy, though some elements of redistributive economies are still practised in Aboriginal communities today.

Pre-contact Economies and the Fur Trade

Katie K. MacLeod

Most timelines of business in Canada begin with the fur trade, but this approach fails to account for the economic systems in place prior to contact and colonization. The pre-contact Aboriginal economies of subsistence, trade, barter, and exchange prior to European arrival that existed on what is now known as North America are the foundation of the contemporary Canadian economy. These economies differed from one Aboriginal population to another; however, generally speaking, these economies were non-monetary, not for profit, communal, and largely based on subsistence and livelihood (Gregory 1982). This chapter highlights some elements of pre-contact economies, as well as the shift that occurred from subsistence to capitalist economies as a result of the North American fur trade. While it is not possible to provide a comprehensive history of indigenous economies in Canada in this brief chapter, those interested in the topic are encouraged to read The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History by Harold A. Innis (1999), Northern Aboriginal Communities: Economies and Development by Peter D. Elias (1995), and Economic Development Among the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada: The Hope for the Future by Robert B. Anderson (1999).

Kinship refers to relationships that are based in common ancestry or marriage.

Subsistence-based economies of hunting, fishing, and trapping operated within kinship networks. These networks controlled and governed access to territory, titles, spiritual traditions, and economic activity. Aboriginal societies could be matrilineal, patrilineal, or egalitarian; those that followed a matrilineal descent line demonstrated a significant degree of female power. Strong examples of this are the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (also known as the Iroquois Confederacy) and many of the First Nations of the northwest coast, including the Tsimshian, Nisga’a, Gitksan, Wet’suwet’en, Tlingit, Haida, and Haisla. Aboriginal matrilineal societies had clear gender roles and divisions; however, they also promoted equality in the balance of labour within the society (M. Anderson 2000).

Subsistence economies are characterized by the production (through hunting and harvesting) of goods such as clothing and food in sufficient quantities to address the needs of a community. Small surpluses have value for immediate and anticipated trade purposes, since the economy is non-monetary based.

As Aboriginal populations came into contact with one another at their borders, a medium for exchange—chiefly, trade, and barter systems—developed. These exchanges took place in what is known as a gift economy, intended to expand social relations, rather than in a commodity or capitalist economy, intended to appropriate goods and gain profit (Strathern 1972; Borrows 2005). In this perspective, pre-contact economies operated primarily on a need basis rather than one of want. This is not to say that indigenous peoples in Canada did not possess wants prior to European arrival; however, these wants would have tended toward the particular or specific usefulness of an item, rather than the future potential exchange value. Items were not valued equally and there was no standard metric of equivalency. To fulfill wants and needs, groups were involved in trade and exchange relationships along pre-contact trade routes.

Bartering is a system of trade without the use of money.

For example, the Haudenosaunee had a strong redistributive economy, where wealth and goods that were not utilized by one particular longhouse would be given to another that was in need. This constant stream of redistribution demonstrates a communal economy of exchange whereby the amount of excess goods one has to share increases their wealth. This type of redistributive or gift economy was prevalent among many pre-contact indigenous populations. When a family or community was not able to sustain itself, e...