Call me a pie in the sky guy, but I really believe social enterprises like organic farm co-operatives is the way to go to kick start First Nation economies, which as we all know have been in a dormant state for a hundred years. This is so because the co-operative concept is the right cultural fit for First Nation communities. Plus, we have the land base to grow food, the knowledge of our retired farmers and elders, and a local workforce. And plus, the organic food industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world today. All this together is the perfect recipe for success. Why arent we doing this already? Well, we’re just starting to wake up to this possibility. First Nation communities have had prosperous reciprocal economies for thousands of years. By “reciprocal economy” I mean giving back in-kind whatever you take from the land. Today we call this organic farming. This all worked so well for First Nations until these very sustainable economies were all but wiped out with the establishment of reserves in 1876 and going under the colonial control of the Indian Act, and placing our communities into chronic systemic and stagnating poverty. But Indigenous people are becoming more educated and aware of their culture and history and collectively First Nation communities are waking up, as if from a long sleep. More and more communities are beginning to see the merit of social enterprise economies and there is movement already towards it. Muskoday Organic Growers Co-op experienced this revitalization phenomenon in 2010 and 11 (see video below). Flying Dust First Nation is another community that has an organic farming co-operative that may well be on the road to successfully establishing a sustainable economy. But there are many challenges that lay ahead, given the many years colonial rule under which its effects have devastated our traditional economies and caused pervasive poverty and psychological and cultural dislocation. The video documentary done for APTNs One With Nature series brilliantly depicts the challenges and successes of an Indigenous organic farming co-op that may well serve as a template for other social enterprises to follow in First Nation communities.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 23:50:10 +0000