Entrepreneurship, Aboriginal Values and Stakeholder Interests: Proposition of a Framework for Conflict Resolution

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is regarded as one of the means to ensure the socio-economic development of Aboriginal communities. However, the dominant theories on entrepreneurship are largely a result of observations made on Euro-American societies; yet Aboriginal communities are recognized for their resistance to the assimilation of Euro-American values and a desire to retain their traditional values when the former conflict strongly with the latter. At the same time, these communities do share many resources with Euro-American communities particularly those associated with place - traditional Aboriginal lands and activities on those lands. This resource sharing and resistance to assimilation sometimes leads to conflicts. Based on observations of conflicts between Aboriginal communities and non-Aboriginal groups in Canada and Africa, this paper proposes a framework for resolving these conflicts. It then analyzes other, similar conflicts and shows how the framework could be used for their resolution.

Keywords: Indigenous people, Indigenous rights, Indigenous values, resource development