Resource World Magazine

F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 1 9 www.resourceworld.com 35 FIRST NATIONS FIRST NATIONS that rely on resource development for the economic well-being of their communities say it is time that their voices were heard as loud and as often as those that stand in opposition to resource development. That's the message Stephen Buffalo, President of the Indian Resource Council delivered at the McDonald-Laurier Institute's forum on Reconciling Duty to Consult and Economic Opportunity in Ottawa last month. "The First Nations communities that depend on the energy and resource sectors for employment and wealth have been hit hard by the economic downturn, the drop in oil prices, and wildfires that have swept across the northern Prairies," said Buffalo whose organization is made up of First Nations across Canada that have oil and gas production on their land including those that have the potential for production. "So when I hear environmentalists say - ing no to pipelines, the other side of me is saying communities here are suffering," says Buffalo. "Many First Nation leaders in the west favour careful, thoughtful development of oil, gas and resource sectors and believe, and must be, full partners in the economy," says Buffalo. Funds from oil and gas extraction pro - vide direct jobs to First Nations, many of which have started their own energy com- panies, and indirect jobs for Indigenous people in field services, he said. This story, of course, runs counter to the standard narrative. If there is a con- temporary image of Indigenous peoples and natural resource development, it is one of opposition and conflict. There is good reason for this. The doz- ens of highly publicized rallies held under the banner of Idle No More expressed strong concerns about environmental pro- tection and resource use. Protests about pipelines, fracking and major resource projects across the country regularly attract large contingents of Aboriginal people, and environmental groups have successfully embedded themselves with anti-development First Nation leaders. Then there are the 250+ resource-related Native wins in courts across Canada. Critics are much better known than the leaders of Fort McKay First Nation in Alberta, Thunderchild First Nation and Onion Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan or the strongly entrepreneurial Tahltan First Nation in Northwestern British Columbia." "The First Nations' reaction to pipe - lines and resource development is much the same as that of non-aboriginal people, in that some are in favour and some are opposed," says Ken Coates, Director of the International Centre for Northern Governance and Development at the University of Saskatchewan. "But there is actually a really good and strong and consistent group out there of First Nations that have participated in the resource economy in really interesting and creative ways, and are producing very successful companies and are making real contributions," he said. "People don't realize that there are bil - lions of dollars in aboriginal trust funds that have received money from the ben- efits of resource development. There are 250 aboriginal development corpora- tions across the country, many of which have hundreds of millions of dollars in investable assets and employ hundreds of people," says Coates. Much has changed in recent years for First Nations and their relationship to Canada's resource sector, Dr. Coates said. Court rulings that have gone in their favour and the government's promise to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples mean that resource companies and governments can no longer treat them as an after - thought, he added. Forty years ago, First Nations had a minimal presence in the Western Canadian energy sector. A few Indigenous peo- ple worked in the oil and gas fields, on pipeline construction, or in the mining industry. The legal and political system required no such participation. "MANY FIRST NATION LEADERS IN THE WEST FAVOUR CAREFUL, THOUGHTFUL DEVELOPMENT OF OIL, GAS AND RESOURCE SECTORS AND BELIEVE, AND MUST BE, FULL PARTNERS IN THE ECONOMY," — STEPHEN BUFFALO

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