Reflections on the Business of Indians and Indian Business

I begin with the question “why are Indians poor?” This reflects a common question that many Canadians ask themselves when presented with stark images of conditions on-reserve, Aboriginal protest, or the reality of homelessness and addiction in their city centres. There are many technical problems with the question as formulated; to begin with, all Indians are not poor. In some cases, the Indian band is poor, but an individual is not, and vice versa. It may be more interesting to ask why Indians are not prosperous, or when are Indians not poor? What are the community and individual factors that contribute to what situations, and what is the outlook for Canada given the current demographic projections of the Aboriginal population and socioeconomic outcomes? The proposed collaborative strategy is a transformation which requires an examination of everything that we do as business, as government and as individuals, beginning with prioritizing equality and inclusion of First Nations in Canada.