Overview
INST 440 – Principles of Indigenous Business is a three credit, senior level course that introduces major themes in the burgeoning field of Indigenous economic development. Students will visit the historical and contemporary issues of race, economics and culture, and will consider their impact on community development. This course presents many of the precepts of business planning, but tries not to lose sight of the fact that economic empowerment for Aboriginal peoples is rooted in history and affected by the duality of Western economics: a force that advanced one group on one hand, and marginalized Aboriginal peoples on the other.
Indigenous Studies 440 is divided into three parts. Part I considers the historical context for the contemporary Indigenous economic experience, and discusses the relationship between economic development and Aboriginal sovereignty. Part II addresses the start-up issues faced by Aboriginal entrepreneurs, and again considers the issues from the perspectives of the distinct cultural form of Indigenous communities. Part III addresses the management aspects of Indigenous businesses, including marketing, financial planning, taxation, human resource management, and evaluating and controlling the growth and structure of a business.
Evaluation
To receive credit for INST 440, you must achieve a mark of at least 50 percent on the final examination, and obtain a course composite grade of at least D (50 percent). The weighting of the course assignments is as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1 | 10% |
| Assignment 2 | 10% |
| Assignment 3 | 10% |
| Assignment 4 | 10% |
| Assignment 5 | 10% |
| Final Exam | 50% |
| Total | 100% |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Physical course materials
The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:
Anderson, R. (2002). Aboriginal entrepreneurship and business development. North York, ON: Captus.
Chiste, L. (Ed.). (1996). Aboriginal small business and entrepreneurship in Canada. North York, ON: Captus.
Other materials
The course materials include a study guide, student manual, and a book of readings.