First Nations land holdings are growing. Hundreds of thousands of acres have been added to reserves since a 1992 land entitlement settlement, which was designed to right historical wrongs.
Some in the non-aboriginal community initially worried about the possibilities of forced sales and whether the new owners would properly maintain their new holdings.
Now, 14 years later, those concerns have mainly been laid to rest.
Attention next turns to how First Nations can use this new land resource to generate development and jobs for their people. In a challenging agricultural economy the task isn’t easy, but as Western Producer journalist Karen Briere reports, initiatives are under way to create agricultural businesses that capitalize on an international interest in aboriginal culture.