Treaty 6 Grand Chief George Arcand from Alexander First Nation is hopeful a new partnership between four Treaty 6 First Nations will level the economic playing field.
“We've always been neighbours. And I believe that historically, we've always gotten together to deal with issues, whether it's economic issues, health issues, or political issues,” he said.
On Jan. 20, the First Nations announced they have formed an alliance, called First Nation Capital Investment Partnership, to pursue ownership in major infrastructure projects.
The partnership is between Alexander First Nation, Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, Enoch Cree Nation, and Paul First Nation, along with financial advisor Axxcelus Capital Advisory Partners.
The team is looking to work with government and industry in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland.
"It's almost like, if you want Aboriginal partnership, there's an entity here and we would be open to having a discussion," Arcand said, adding this is the first time something like this has been created.
“It’s the first time the four [First] Nations [themselves] have created an entity to seek, negotiate, and to talk to government and industry about potential economic or prosperity issues for Alberta, First Nations, Canadians, and so forth,” he said.
There are two reasons the partnership was created.
“The First Nations in the area have made a decision that we needed to partner amongst ourselves to look at how we can achieve opportunities, economic opportunities, for communities,” said Arcand.
The second reason is that creating a partnership allows them to work with other partners, such as government or industry, to include things like good stewardship of land and projects and other partnerships, he said.
“The only way we could do that is if we created a capital opportunity for us to get involved in a bigger way.”
Arcand said they are looking at bigger projects that will allow them to get involved in a fairly immediate return.
“We're talking about getting into agreements that allow the First Nations to receive benefits and ensure that our communities have resources to deal with some of the environmental issues and the questions that come up and environmental impacts,” he said.
It isn’t solely about making money, however.
“We want to ensure there is stewardship of the land, of the environment, so that whoever we're going to partner with is going to be held to certain standards, and that we're certainly not in it just to make money. It's a longer-term commitment over just our social conscience and those types of environmental issues,” said Arcand.
He said in principle, they believe in moving toward new-age environmental opportunities, such as working with the oil industry and the government on things like carbon capture.
“Some of those things are a strong opportunity. We want to get involved in some of those things, but make sure the things that [government and industry] are entertaining are going to meet the standards that ensure the environment still gets looked at,” he said.
Arcand said the group is expecting some challenges, and he thinks it might be a little bit of a challenge to gather financing.
“People generally are not used to First Nations coming into the marketplace as an organized group.
“But also, the challenge will be when we talk to our partners, whether it's government or industry, we are not looking at partnerships where we are not going to put our resources up also,” he said.
As for what it will mean for their communities, Arcand said this will be the first time they are getting together as, what he said one might call a western Edmonton front, as the closest First Nations in proximity to Edmonton, the Heartland areas, and the areas developing around them.
“For our nation, it's an opportunity for us to work with our relations and our neighbours.”
