Volume 8, Number 2, Fall 2013 Guest-edited by David Natcher and Marena Brinkhurst

EN:

The "Rule of Law" and "Individual Property Rights" are often regarded as necessary conditions for economic growth and development. Recently, the common ownership of First Nation reserve lands in Canada was identified as "Dead capital." Apparently, the problems of delayed development can be traced to a dysfunctional property system. A serious critique of collective ownership with its concomitant high transactions costs suggests a stronger on-reserve role for market relations. Only by individualizing land ownership and coming out from under the Indian Act can the commercial potential of reserve lands be realized. Clearly, a closer look at the property rights paradigm is required. To assist with a discussion of such proposals for development, this paper will employ a critical economic history approach, by (i) explaining the foundations of the property rights paradigm; (ii) employing two case summaries to demonstrate how US and Canadian authorities directed the conversion of collective Indigenous land holdings to individual transferable titles; and (iii) identifying some outcomes associated with the creation of transferable individual rights in property. Two case summaries demonstrate how economic history can illustrate the private property rights experiences of Indigenous peoples. Coercion by the United States government resulted in the breakup (allotment) and sale of large Indian territorial reservation lands. In the Canadian prairie west, Métis entitlements took the form of grants of millions of acres of scrip and the assignment or conveyance of their interests left them without a land base. In these cases, lands and entitlements ostensibly reserved for Indigenous peoples were diverted to emerging settler land markets. Evidence suggests that the weaker property rights of speculators/settlers triumphed over the legally recognized rights of Indigenous peoples. In other words, the Rule of Law in respect of property was somewhat different for settlers/speculators and Indigenous peoples. In these historical cases, the individualization of collective ownership into transferable assets had similar outcomes that do not seem to accord with predictions that economic growth will ensue from the promotion of private property rights and the reduced transaction costs.

EN:

This paper is based on case study research with the Penticton Indian Band (PIB) that examined the land management implications of individual landholdings (Certificates of Possession, CPs) on First Nations reserves under the Indian Act, both historically and today. We summarize the history of the landholdings system on PIB's main reserve and report on how CPs impact PIB's contemporary local land management. We also discuss PIB's efforts to adapt its land tenure and management systems locally while continuing to operate within the overall land management framework of the Indian Act; efforts that make PIB's experiences particularly interesting for other First Nations and their land managers, federal officials and policy makers, and researchers. Our objective in this paper is to complement and broaden existing research on CPs by focusing on land management challenges from PIB's experiences.

EN:

In 1999 the Canadian Federal government passed the First Nations Land Management Act, ratifying the Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management signed by the government and 14 original signatory First Nations in 1996. This Agreement allows First Nations to opt out of the 34 land code provisions of the Indian Act and develop individual land codes, and has been promoted as a means of increasing First Nation autonomy and facilitating economic growth and development on reserve lands. There are currently 77 First Nation signatories to the Agreement, 39 with operational independent land codes. This paper is the first to empirically examine factors that may influence a First Nation's decision to become signatory to the Framework Agreement. A unique dataset characterizing each First Nation by socio-economic and demographic characteristics is used with a probit model to determine the effects of these characteristics on the probability of First Nation adoption of the Agreement. The results of this study indicate that proximity to an urban centre positively affects the probability that a First Nation will adopt. However, the statistical strength of this finding is sensitive to the inclusion of an education variable in the regression.

EN:

Much debate concerning property rights on reserves in Canada focuses on socio-economic impacts and the potential for individualized land tenure to support economic development, thereby reducing poverty. Study of existing forms of individual property on reserves is needed to inform these debates. In this article, we examine data on the lawful possession (Certificate of Possession) system that is currently used on reserves across Canada. We provide descriptive statistics regarding the variability of lawful possessions across First Nations and using regression analysis we assess which socio-economic, demographic, and locational variables influence the use of lawful possessions instead of communal land or other customary land holding systems. We show that use of the lawful possession system is surprisingly low and very uneven. As well, our regression results suggests that using the system requires a relatively educated community with low levels of poverty, with a favourable geographic location. Overall, the results are consistent with the view that lawful possessions are not primarily used to foster economic development.

EN:

This paper provides an empirical analysis of the relationship between the political stability of First Nations in Saskatchewan and a number of measures of social and economic well-being. Our results show that among First Nations in Saskatchewan the average term of elected leadership is 4.5 years. Simple descriptive statistics support the basic hypothesis that more stability, represented as less frequent changes in elected Chiefs, is associated with better socio-economic outcomes for First Nation communities. Our findings also show evidence that there are limits to how much more socio-economic gains can be achieved by increasing political stability of First Nation governments. At some point the positive contribution of greater stability to socio-economic outcomes decreases, such that it may eventually reduce, rather than improve positive socio-economic outcomes. With this paper we hope to inform the current debate of the merits or risks associated with any future changes in First Nation elections and their resulting systems of governance.

EN:

Alternative land management options for First Nations are intended to improve their well-being through on-Reserve economic development. Another means by which First Nations are increasing their participation in the economy is through migration off Reserve, primarily urban centres. A third, to date neglected, means by which First Nations participate in the economy is through accessing off-Reserve employment while retaining Reserve residence. While positive urban agglomeration spillovers in the form of employment opportunities for rural populations are well established for the general population, this has not been investigated for Reserve populations. This paper examines the incidence and determinants of off-Reserve employment by Reserve residents in Canada. We find that along with distance, population growth rates and a higher percentage of the population over the age of 15, out-commuting rates from Reserves are influential in Community Well-Being Scores. Out-commuting is, in turn, facilitated by high school completion rates and negatively affected by distance. We conclude that improved access to off-Reserve employment for Reserve residents is an important means of improving the well-being of Reserve populations, and that a high school education is associated with off-Reserve employment.

EN:

The employment rate for Aboriginals living off-reserve in Canada continued to improve in 2012. It increased to 56.9%, a rate of two percent (2%) over 2011. This is impressive when compared to the zero growth rate for non-Aboriginals. The participation rate for Aboriginals living off-reserve in Canada also increased. It grew from 64.1% to 65.2%. In addition, the gap between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals for employment rates and participation rates continued to narrow in 2012. When employment is examined by educational level, there is no meaningful difference between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals. There is also a clear relationship that increased levels of education are associated with higher employment rates and participation rates. Aboriginal employment in 2012 increased the most in Ontario. It is also the province with the largest Aboriginal as well as non-Aboriginal populations. The sectors in which the largest increases in Aboriginal employment in 2012 occurred were in construction, manufacturing, health care and social assistance and information, culture and recreation.