Report looks at Aboriginal co-ops

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While forming co-ops may be a good way for Aboriginal communities to develop their economies, most communities don't have the information they need to decide if the co-op model is for them.

That's one of the conclusions of A Report on Aboriginal Co-operatives in Canada: Current Situations and Potential for Growth, published by the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives at the University of Saskatchewan. The report was prepared by Dr. Lou Hammond Ketilson, associate professor of management and marketing with the College of Commerce and the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, and Dr. Ian MacPherson, director of the British Columbia Institute for Co-operative Studies at the University of Victoria. The report was prepared on behalf of the Canadian Co-operative Association and le Conseil Canadien de la Cooperation, with funding from Indian Affairs and Northern Development (INAC) and the Assembly of First Nations (AFN).

The study, released in the spring, looks at the history of Aboriginal co-operatives in Canada, as well their current state. The report also looks at the potential for growth of co-operatives in Aboriginal communities, and makes recommendations aimed at aiding in that growth.

According to the report, there are approximately 130 co-operatives in Canada that have a predominantly Aboriginal membership.

Development of co-operatives was one of five different approaches implemented by the federal government over the years to try to stimulate economic development among Aboriginal people, the others being business development, human resource development, development of specific sectors of the economy such as forestry, fishing, agriculture and tourism, and community-based economic development. While the government has focused its efforts on development of Aboriginal co-operatives at various times over the last 60 or so years, there has been very little support provided for co-operative development in recent years, the report states.

If the recommendations of the report are paid heed to, that could all change.

The report makes nine recommendations, most dealing with ways to increase the information available about Aboriginal co-operatives, ways to get that information out to Aboriginal communities to give them a better understanding about what a co-op is, what the benefits are, and how they can work to develop a co-op model in their community, and ways to support those initiatives.

Among the recommendations are the forming of a special committee to devise a strategy for promoting and supporting co-op developments within Aboriginal communities, as well as organizing a symposium to get the word out to Aboriginal communities about the successes of existing co-operatives, and looking at opportunities for future development.

But what exactly is a co-op?

The definition of a co-operative, according to the International Co-operative Alliance, is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically controlled enterprise."

The co-op model is well suited to Aboriginal communities, the report explains, because traditionally, Aboriginal communities have approached many aspects of life in a co-operative manner.

"The progress made by co-operative movements around the world corresponds well with the degree to which societies and communities traditionally embraced spontaneous co-operative activities, be it the seal hunt, the harvesting of grains, the collective marketing of produce, the joint purchasing of food and supplies, mutual aid in times of adversity, the sale of art, the sharing of work place skills, the collective provision of shelter, and community access to health services. Well-rooted co-operative organizations are not just the impositions of an institutional form; they often are the outward manifestations of a deep understanding of the benefits of collaborative behavior - the kind of undersanding that emanates most persuasively from the communal cultures of people, including Aboriginal peoples in many parts of the world. For that reason alone, the future for co-operative development among Aboriginal people is promising, given their common devotion and capacity for collective behavior."

The benefits of co-operatives are many, both to the co-op members, as well as to the community at large, the report explains. They strengthen the local economy, provide employment, and provide education and training to members involved in the running of the co-op. They also provide the community with control, as decisions about the co-op are being made by the membership.

In most cases, co-operatives have benefited the communities they are in by providing a product or service that, up until that time, had not been available. The co-operatives also contribute to the communities through improvements in infrastructure - roads, communications and services. Three Saskatchewan co-ops were among those profiled in the report.

One of the studies included in the report looks at the success of the Amachewespimawin Co-op in Stanley Mission, which is part of the Lac La Ronge Indian band. The Amachewespimawin Co-op started out as the Stanley Mission Co-op in the early 1970s, with the opening of a co-operative store. Since then, the co-op has grown steadily, and now operates a large retail store, a gas bar, and a restaurant.

The community has benefited from the ongoing success of the Amachewespimawin Co-op, both through employment and money flowing in to the community. Under the co-op model, the report explains, the co-ops profits stay in the community because the co-op is owned and run by community members. The co-op also contributes to the community by supporting community activities and fund raising efforts.

The New Beginnings Housing Co-operative in Prince Albert was another of the case studies contained in the report. New Beginnings began in 1996, with a double mandate - to ive an economic boost to older neighborhoods by renovating older homes, and to provide people who couldn't qualify for a mortgage with an opportunity to own a home.

Also profiled in the case studies is Quint Development Corporation of Saskatoon. Established in 1995, Quint is a community economic development initiative representing five neighborhoods in the Saskatoon core which are facing similar challenges.

The neighborhoods - Pleasant Hill, Westmount, King George, Riversdale and Caswell Hill - the report explains, have a large number of rental properties, older homes, many vacant houses, and a population with low income levels, high unemployment rates, and a number of families on social assistance. Among the programs co-ordinated by Quint are a housing co-operative, established through Quint's Affordable Home Ownership Program, the Quint Construction Worker's Co-operative, which provides carpentry and construction training, and entrepreneurial training.

For more information about the report, visit the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives Web site at http://coop-studies.usask.ca.