The business of reconciliation

The canoe honours the Indigenous stewards and early traders who established the roots of commerce in this land. It serves as a reminder of the cultural values essential to fostering a cohesive and equitable economic environment for all.

More than routes for exchanging goods, these trade networks built diplomacy, trust and created space for reciprocity and knowledge sharing, as well as developed infrastructure and the alliances that were integral to complex Indigenous societies across North America.

Indigenous entrepreneurship, then, is a return to something that has always been there. The birch bark canoe represents a long-established history of Indigenous entrepreneurship and the vast trade networks that laid the foundation for the modern North American economy.

Rewriting the business school curriculum

That perspective now shapes how business is taught at the Ted Rogers School of Management.

Michael Mihalicz, business management professor and Indigenous advisor, has revised the curriculum to better recognize Indigenous contributions to Canada’s economy, with the canoe central to that work. He developed an open-access resource, “Indigenous Entrepreneurship: a community-driven approach to new venture creation,” which examines the legitimacy of business in Indigenous traditions by exploring pre-colonial commerce, trade and exchange in North America.

By the numbers

The Indigenous economy

1.8 million+

Indigenous people in Canada — 5% of the total population.

500

Community-owned Indigenous Economic Development Corporations, active in energy, construction, tourism and more.

23%

Projected growth of Indigenous entrepreneurs over the next decade.

2005-17

Indigenous-owned businesses grew faster than non-Indigenous-owned businesses.

75%

Growth in the Indigenous economy between 2012-22.

“Early Indigenous trade systems allowed the spread of ideas, beliefs and traditions, shaping shared languages, infrastructure and the social and political alliances that underpinned complex societies across North America,” says Mihalicz. “After European contact, these same birch bark canoes carried furs across more than a million square miles of wilderness to ports like Montreal and York Factory, making vast regions accessible for trade.”

TMU’s business curriculum is guided by Indigenous values and perspectives, recognizing Indigenous self-determination and economic independence that emphasizes community. And that meaningful economic participation is a vital part of reconciliation.

The canoe, an important cultural marker, serves to recognize the origins of commerce in Canada, symbolizing Indigenous innovation and entrepreneurship in shaping Canada’s past, present and future.

The business of reconciliation

Rewriting the business school curriculum

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