Indigenous Business Studies (INBU) 462

Overview

Over the past few decades, community economic development efforts are increasingly taking a long-term and more comprehensive approach. This course contributes to this trend by taking a strategic approach to Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) community planning and economic development.

The course is divided into two parts. The first is grounded in the work of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, which identified four key elements of community development: strategy, culture match, governance and leadership, and institution building. Students will examine the relationship between successful community economic development, culture, and tradition to build legitimacy for community support and prosperity. The second part explores important cornerstones of development that help translate the strategic approach into concrete planning: comprehensive community planning, community engagement, Indigenous economic development corporations, grounding planning in culture, financial literacy, and pursuing partnerships. The course also covers some forward-looking ideas, such as re-examining classical infrastructure concepts to include natural infrastructure for long term sustainable development. Finally, students will explore Seven Generations planning and the Indigenous Planning Framework that brings together previous topics and important Indigenous teachings, such as everything is related and All Our Relations, to examine how community planning and development are interrelated and connected.

Students will explore these key concepts, approaches, and tools through readings, case studies, and applied assignments. Students who successfully complete this course will gain valuable skills and knowledge that can support communities in building capacity in strategic thinking, Seven Generation planning, leadership and governance, community economic development, prosperity, and nation building.

This course aligns with INBU 461: Indigenous Community Planning and Economic Development I. These two courses may be taken simultaneously.

Outline

Part 1: Foundations of Development

• Lesson 1: Strategic Approach
• Lesson 2: Cultural Match
• Lesson 3: Governance and Leadership
• Lesson 4: Institution Building
• Lesson 5: Nation Building

Part 2: Cornerstones of Development

• Lesson 6: Comprehensive Community Planning
• Lesson 7: Community Engagement
• Lesson 8: Indigenous Economic Development Corporations
• Lesson 9: Classical and Natural Infrastructure
• Lesson 10: Economic Development, Culture, and Tradition
• Lesson 11: Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship
• Lesson 12: Developing Partnerships and Networks
• Lesson 13: Seven Generations Planning

Learning outcomes

After completing this course, students should be able to do the following:

• Identify the core components of a strategic approach to Indigenous community planning and economic development, and explain their importance.
• Apply concepts within the areas of comprehensive community planning, community engagement, Seven Generations planning, and nation building to make sound recommendations in a variety of contexts.
• Discuss how Indigenous Economic Development Corporations form a critical part of a community economic development strategy.
• Explain how integrating natural and classical infrastructure concepts can inform planning and support long-term sustainable development.
• Discuss the interrelatedness of economic development, culture, and tradition, and explain how these can contribute to efforts toward fostering legitimacy, engaging with communities, and nation building.
• Describe the importance of developing financial literacy, networking and building partnerships, and the Seven Generations planning framework, and explain how these can contribute to nation building.

Evaluation

Your final grade in INBU 462 is determined by a weighted average of the grades you receive on five written assignments and a final exam. To receive credit for INBU 462, you must achieve a minimum grade of 50 percent on the final exam and an overall grade of D (50 percent) or better for the entire course.

The weightings for each assignment and the exam are as follows:

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.

Materials

Digital course materials

Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:

Jorgensen, M. (Ed.). (2007). Rebuilding Native nations: Strategies for governance and development. University of Arizona Press.

Important links

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