Case Studies

The Best Practices in Rural Alberta Project

Producer
The Rural Alberta Project
Year

The Best Practices in Rural Alberta Project culminated in September 2012, after two and a half years of community engagement; research into the examination of leadership strengths and practices; incredible youth development; and video capture in preparation for a documentary film. This documentary profoundly captures the core essence and power of Indigenous economic development in Alberta...

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Citation

The Rural Alberta Project. "The Best Practices in Rural Alberta Project." The Banff Centre. Banff, Alberta. September 2012. Documentary. (https://documentaryaddict.com/films/the-best-practices-in-rural-developm..., accessed September 20, 2016.)

Forwarding First Nation Goals Through Enterprise Ownership: The Mikisew Group Of Companies

Year

The Mikisew Group of Companies (Mikisew Group) is the business arm of the Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN). Founded in 1991 using monies from a $26.6 million land claim settlement with the governments of Alberta and Canada, it has achieved remarkable success. This success is evident in the wide arra y of business practice awards the group and its constituent companies have received, including Client of the Year (2008, Mikisew Group), Alberta Business Award of Distinction Eagle Feather finalist (2010, Mikisew Group), Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training Board Aboriginal Employer of the Year (2011, Mikis ew Fleet Man a gement), Pacrim Hospitality Company of the Year (2008, Super 8 Fort McMurray), Alberta Hotel and Lodging Association Housekeeping Award (2012, Super 8 Fort McMurray), and the Fort McMurray Tourism Ambassador of the Year (2009, Tim Gilles, general manager, Mikisew Sport Fishing).

But the Mikisew Group is not just a business. It is part of the MCFN’s overall strategy for increasing self-sufficiency and self-determination. Its success in these terms is evident in the substantial revenue it generates for MCFN, the jobs and careers it provides for the nation ’s citizens, and its ability to promote MCFN voice in decisions that affect the nation’s Aboriginal territory. This case study, part of a larger conversation about Aboriginal business achievement, explores the decisions and practices that have contributed to the Mikisew Group’s success.

Native Nations
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Citation

Jorgensen, Miriam and Rachel Starks. Forwarding First Nation Goals Through Enterprise Ownership: The Mikisew Group Of Companies. Prepared for the Indigenous Leadership and Management Program, The Banff Centre. Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, and Policy. The University of Arizona. Tucson, Arizona. April 2014. Case Study. (http://nni.arizona.edu/application/files/2314/6179/0332/2014-4_mikisew_case_study.pdf, accessed April 17, 2014)

Managing Land, Governing for the Future: Finding the Path Forward for Membertou

Year

This in-depth, interview-based study was commissioned by Membertou Chief and Council and the Membertou Governance Committee, and funded by the Atlantic Aboriginal Economic Development Integrated Research Program to investigate methods by which Membertou First Nation can further increase its decision-making power over economic development. Membertou has made significant economic strides but increasingly struggles against the limits of Canada's Indian Act, especially in terms of land management. Without a well-understood, reliable, and transactionally efficient land regime, the First Nation cannot achieve its community development goals. In fact, recent experiences with commercial and residential development have underscored the insufficiency of Indian Act protocols and the limits on "work-arounds" Membertou has used to avoid those protocols. A wholly new approach is needed.

Membertou's leadership has made the decision to participate in the Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management as a means of opting out of the lands-relevant portions of the Indian Act. This project emerges from that decision and addresses the following questions: What more does the nation need to do at the level of band governance to implement the Framework Agreement? What institutional and legal infrastructure is needed to support First Nation-led land management? What might Membertou learn from other First Nations that are managing their own lands (under the Land Management Act or other arrangements such as self-governance agreements, treaty settlements, and comprehensive land claims)? What are the preferences of the Membertou community in terms of land management arrangements?

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Starks, Rachel. "Managing Land, Governing for the Future: Finding the Path Forward for Membertou." The Atlantic Aboriginal Economic Development Integrated Research Program. Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. September 2013. Case Study. (https://www.cbu.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/FINAL-ManagingLandGoverningfortheFuture-FindingthePathForwardforMembertouMarch2014.pdf, accessed June 7, 2023)

Crime-Reduction Best Practices Handbook: Making Indian Communities Safe

Year

In 2009, the Secretary of the Interior and the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs established a High Priority Performance Goal (HPPG) to reduce violent crime by a combined 5% within 24 months on targeted tribal reservations. The selected reservations were Rocky Boy’s (Montana), Mescalero (New Mexico), Wind River (Wyoming), and Standing Rock (North and South Dakota). By the end of 2011, the strategies implemented and practiced by the law enforcement agencies operating on these reservations resulted in a combined reduction of violent crimes by 35%. This handbook is a compilation of the strategies that were instrumental in achieving and surpassing the goal...

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Citation

Office of Justice Services. "Crime-Reduction Best Practices Handbook: Making Indian Communities Safe." Office of Justice Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs. Washington, DC. 2012. Paper. (http://www.bia.gov/cs/groups/xojs/documents/text/idc-018678.pdf, accessed September 11, 2013)

Best Practices Case Study (Transparency and Fairness): Westbank First Nation

Year

The Westbank First Nation is located in south-central British Columbia in the Okanagan Valley. In the mid-1980s, conflicts within the Westbank First Nation council created significant animosity among community members. The outcome was the Hall Inquiry which made recommendations around strengthening governance accountability and certainty of jurisdiction...

Native Nations
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Citation

National Centre for First Nations Governance. "Best Practices Case Study (Transparency and Fairness): Westbank First Nation." A Report for the National Centre for First Nations Governance. The National Centre for First Nations Governance. Canada. June 2009. Case Study. (https://fngovernance.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/TF_Westbank.pdf, accessed March 8, 2023)

Best Practices Case Study (Results-Based Organizations): First Nations & Inuit Home & Community Care

Year

For more than 15 years, the lack of home care services relevant for First Nations and Inuit communities has been identified as a significant health and social issue. In response to this need, a Joint Health Canada / Department of Indian and Northern Affairs (DIAND) / First Nations / Inuit working group was formed to develop a framework for a comprehensive home care program...

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Citation

National Centre for First Nations Governance. "Best Practices Case Study (Results-Based Organizations): First Nations & Inuit Home & Community Care." A Report for the National Centre for First Nations Governance. The National Centre for First Nations Governance. Canada. June 2009. Case Study. (https://fngovernance.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/RBO_FNCare.pdf, accessed March 8, 2023)

Best Practices Case Study (Cultural Alignment of Institutions): Teslin Tlingit Council

Year

Situated in southern Yukon, the Teslin Tlingit people have a clan system of government. That clan system of government operated for years prior to the imposition of the Indian Act. Through the Indian Act, traditional governance was separated from formal decision-making power and authority. Then in the early 1990s, following 20 years of negotiation, federal and territorial settlement legislation provided the basis for the creation and ratification of the Teslin Tlingit Council Final and Self-Government Agreements. Through these agreements, the Teslin Tlingit people once again were able to recognize the power and authority of their clan-based government...

Native Nations
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Citation

National Centre for First Nations Governance. "Best Practices Case Study (Cultural Alignment of Institutions): Teslin Tlingit Council." A Report for the National Centre for First Nations Governance. The National Centre for First Nations Governance. Canada. June 2009. Case Study. (https://fngovernance.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/CAI_Tlingit.pdf, access March 7, 2023)

Best Practices Case Study (Cultural Alignment of Institutions): San Carlos Apache

Year

Traditional Apache culture is based on an intimate spiritual connection with and knowledge of the natural world. Apache elders believe that connection is necessary to respect one’s self, other humans and all living things. The San Carlos Apache elders living in San Carlos in northern Arizona have seen the changes in their community that are particularly worrisome...In the midst of such cultural, political and economic difficulties lies a kernel of hope and inspiration — the San Carlos Elders Cultural Advisory Council (ECAC). Formed in November 1993 by Tribal Council resolution, the all-volunteer ECAC was established to advise the Tribal Council on cultural matters, to carry out consultations with off-reservation entities on culturally related matters, and to execute various projects related to cultural preservation...

Native Nations
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Citation

National Centre for First Nations Governance. "Best Practices Case Study (Cultural Alignment of Institutions): San Carlos Apache." A Report for the National Centre for First Nations Governance. The National Centre for First Nations Governance. Canada. June 2009. Case Study. (https://fngovernance.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/CAI_Apache.pdf, accessed March 23, 2023)

Best Practices Case Study (Inter-Governmental Relations): Sliammon First Nation

Year

In 2002, the City of Powell River, on the Sunshine Coast in south-western B.C., began construction on a seawalk park. The project inadvertently destroyed or disturbed significant cultural sites of Sliammon First Nation including petroglyphs and shell middens. Deeply concerned by the site impact and the lack of consultation with their nation, then Chief L. Maynard Harry and respected Elder Norm Gallagher confronted city officials...

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

National Centre for First Nations Governance. "Best Practices Case Study (Inter-Governmental Relations): Sliammon First Nation." A Report for the National Centre for First Nations Governance. The National Centre for First Nations Governance. Canada. June 2009. Case Study. (https://fngovernance.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IGR_Sliammon.pdf, accessed March 8, 2023)

Best Practices Case Study (Inter-Governmental Relations): Squamish & Lil'wat First Nations

Year

The Squamish First Nation and the Lil'wat First Nation are both located in southwestern B.C. and have an area of overlapping traditional territory that extends into the lands around the resort community of Whistler. Although they are two distinct First Nations with different cultures and social relationships, they have a history of respectful co-existence as neighbours. Mindful of the historic precedence of shared lands and the overlapping interests in land stewardship, the Lil'wat Nation met with the Squamish Nation in 1999 to discuss land use and planning in areas of traditional territory overlap. This signalled a move away from competition between neighbouring First Nations for recognition and scarce resources and toward a relationship that could leverage the power of working together on mutual objectives...

Resource Type
Citation

National Centre for First Nations Governance. "Best Practices Case Study (Inter-Governmental Relations): Squamish & Lil'wat First Nations." A Report for the National Centre for First Nations Governance. The National Centre for First Nations Governance. Canada. June 2009. Case Study. (https://fngovernance.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IGR_SquamishLilwat.pdf, accessed March 8, 2023)