Since the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007, Indigenous rights issues around the world have been gaining recognition and prominence. These issues range from continuing assimilation policies and marginalization, to dispossession of land and forced removal or relocation, as well as the denial of land rights. Another key issue involves the impacts of resource development projects on the traditional territories and resources of Indigenous communities. More often than not, project proponents find themselves caught between governments and Indigenous communities who are looking to resolve long-standing issues. In order to navigate the often unique environmental, social and other issues with local Indigenous communities, project proponents have sought to engage and partner with Indigenous groups to bring the benefits of resource projects to local communities. In Canada, its wealth of natural resources, and the desire to develop these resources, have spurred the need for project proponents to build strategic and mutually beneficial relationships with Indigenous communities. Indigenous engagement is essential to the successful development of resource projects in Canada. While the bulk of Indigenous participation has taken place in the renewable energy sector, partnering with Indigenous communities to build sustainable projects is also common best practice in the mining, infrastructure, and conventional energy sectors. Over the past 20 years, industry has seen a shift in the desire of Indigenous groups to move from being passive participants in projects, to being business owners and business partners in the truest sense of the word. This platform presentation will consider the policy drivers for industry to engage with Indigenous groups, approaches to partnering with Indigenous groups, types of commercial agreements with Indigenous groups, key issues in negotiations with Indigenous groups and implementation challenges, as well as strategies for building successful relationships with Indigenous communities. The presentation will also consider best practices through the lens of selected projects.
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