Aboriginal forestry entrepreneurship: A case study in Mashteuiatsh Ilnu Nation

Abstract

The participation of the First Nations in Canadian forestry is a growing and irreversible phenomenon. There is a lack of information on forestry initiatives in Aboriginal communities, particularly regarding factors contributing to entrepreneurial development within Aboriginal communities. It is in this context that we present a case study that allowed us to draw a portrait of forestry entrepreneurs within the Ilnu community of Mashteuiatsh. Our results reveal the determinant but delicate role played by the band council in developing forestry entrepreneurship in the community. Our research also indicates that it is essential to define the roles of various economic and political stakeholders in order to promote private forestry initiatives.Key words: Aboriginal people, forestry, economic development, entrepreneurship RÉSUMÉ La participation des Premières Nations à la foresterie canadienne est un phénomène en croissance et irréversible. Il existe un manque d'information sur les initiatives forestières des communautés autochtones. En particulier, les facteurs contribuant au développement entrepreneurial au sein des communautés autochtones sont méconnus. Avec l' étude du cas de la communauté Ilnu de Mashteuiatsh, nous présentons un portrait des entrepreneurs forestiers autochtones. Nos résultats révèlent le rôle déterminant mais délicat joué par le conseil de bande pour développer l' entrepreneuriat forestier dans la communauté. Notre recherche montre aussi qu'il est essentiel de préciser les rôles des différents acteurs économiques et politiques afin de favoriser les initiatives privées en foresterie.

Valeurs autochtones et modèles forestiers

“…La foresterie est un secteur économique important au Canada, et Essipit, tout comme plusieurs autres communautés autochtones (Beaudoin et al 2009 ;Trosper et al 2008 forEstEriE communAutAirE La foresterie communautaire est un arrangement par lequel une forêt publique est gérée par une communauté pour le bénéfice de cette communauté (Teitelbaum et al 2006). on en retrouve de nombreux exemples partout dans le monde (Pagdee et al 2006 ;Roy 2006).…”

Aboriginal economic development of forest resources: How can we think outside the wood box?

“…Many Aboriginal groups have opted for the commercial forestry economic model. They have created sawmills, logging, road building, trucking and silvicultural companies (La Rusic 1995, Anderson 1997a, Rekmans 1998, NAFA-IOG 2000, Wilkinson Chapman 2004, Boyd 2006, Beaudoin et al 2009. While this could be seen as their objective, this should not be assumed because few Aboriginal communities have had the chance to define their own vision of forestry and what kinds of opportunities they seek to develop.…”

Untapped potential? Attitudes and behaviours of forestry employers toward the Indigenous workforce in Quebec, Canada

“…Socially, employment can improve living conditions in Indigenous communities by increasing household income (Ciceri and Scott 2006;Ferdinand et al 2014; National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health (NCCAH) 2017). Therefore, many Indigenous communities in Canada are seeking their fair share of employment in forestry, either by creating businesses (Beaudoin et al 2009(Beaudoin et al , 2015 or through partnerships with non-Indigeno us businesses (Boyd and Trosper 2009).…”

“…This is important, as factors that promote Indigenous economic development imply communities choosing their own development approaches and putting in place capable and culturally grounded institutions (Jorgensen 2007;Nikolakis et al 2019). Although some studies have documented the contribution of Indigenous businesses 1 to the forest economy (Beaudoin et al 2009(Beaudoin et al , 2015Boyd and Trosper 2009;Proulx 2012), few have focused on the participation of Indigenous people in the forestry workforce Guillaume et al's (2014, p. 783) Diversity Management Model in Organizations can be used to analyze issues related to recruitment, integration, and retention of the Indigenous workforce. This model explains, based on work motivation logic, "the conditions under which employee dissimilarity within diverse work groups is related to innovation, effectiveness, and wellbeing".…”