Doing Business with the Devil
Membertou First Nation, one of the few urban aboriginal reserves in Atlantic Canada, defies stereotypes about poor, mismanaged reserves. Its potholes are filled and new buildings are under construction. However, in spite of its success, Membertou faces serious challenges in the future. In a paper just release by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, Jacquelyn Thayer Scott examines the road ahead for the Membertou First Nation. In "Doing Business with the Devil: Land, sovereignty, and corporate partnerships in Membertou Inc., Ms. Scott identifies succession, attitudinal change, cultural erosion and the issues of firewalls and property rights, with their implications for access to capital, as major hurdles facing the leadership.