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Building a Nation: a Success Story

In 1985, 98% of the Tahltan First Nation in British Columbia was unemployed, with 80% on welfare. Education was poor and there was no access to basic infrastructure or clean drinking water.

When the Canadian government and industry planned resource development on Tahltan lands, the First Nation created a model to allow development on their terms.

Today, the Tahltan’s economic development corporation is valued at more than $25 million. The people enjoy high-quality education, full employment and full access to infrastructure and drinking water. There are successful traditional language and cultural heritage programs for the youth, social programs for women and single mothers and the strongest Native-owned environmental assessment team in Canada.

Today, the Tahltan are self-empowered decision-makers in how their lands and resources develop. Meanwhile, their partners enjoy the fruits of their successful ventures.

How Did They Do It?

The most important thing we did was to develop a strong vision for where we wanted to be in 20 years, a strategy of how we were going to get there, and a vehicle (the development corporation) to take us there.

Our vision was two fold: First, to eliminate unemployment in our Nation by developing our people along with our resources, and secondly, to bring Pride and Dignity back to our Nation, by not being beggars in our own Land. In order to achieve our vision, we built strong teams, negotiated good partnerships and reinvested everything back into our people. We knew that a strong economy was not the end goal, it was a means to an end.

The end goal was to create well-being and quality of life, in essence, a great future for all Tahltans.

– Jerry Asp, Founding President of the Tahltan Nation Development Corporation

Global Indigenous Trust

Our Vision

Our vision is a global network of healthy, vibrant, thriving communities and people, living their true potential.

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Partner Spotlight - Ted Rogers School of Managemen Partner Spotlight - Ted Rogers School of Management | ⁠
Toronto Metropolitan University⁠
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We'd like to thank our newest partner for supporting our Champions of Change Program and making the work we do at GIDT possible. ⁠
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If you'd like to be a Champion of Change, you can support our projects through the link in bio.⁠
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#ChampionsOfChange #SupportThrivingNations
Partner Spotlight - Terrestrial Energy⁠ ⁠ We'd Partner Spotlight - Terrestrial Energy⁠
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We'd like to thank our newest partner for supporting our Champions of Change Program and making the work we do at GIDT possible. ⁠
⁠
If you'd like to be a Champion of Change, you can support our projects through the link in bio.⁠
⁠
#ChampionsOfChange #SupportThrivingNations
Partner Spotlight - Ian Martin⁠ ⁠ We'd like to Partner Spotlight - Ian Martin⁠
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We'd like to thank our newest partner for supporting our Champions of Change Program and making the work we do at GIDT possible. ⁠
⁠
If you'd like to be a Champion of Change, you can support our projects through the link in bio.⁠
⁠
#ChampionsOfChange #SupportThrivingNations
Partner Spotlight - IBK Capital Corp.⁠ ⁠ We'd Partner Spotlight - IBK Capital Corp.⁠
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We'd like to thank our newest partner for supporting our Champions of Change Program and making the work we do at GIDT possible. ⁠
⁠
If you'd like to be a Champion of Change, you can support our projects through the link in bio.⁠
⁠
#ChampionsOfChange #SupportThrivingNations
Join GIDT for @LocalFoodFarmCoops Assembly 2022: P Join GIDT for @LocalFoodFarmCoops Assembly 2022: Pollinators of Change! This year's focus is to imagine how the world can work differently, regeneratively and cooperatively 🌿⁠
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Sign up to participate with our Co-Founder @SoniaMolodecky, Becky Big Canoe, Mike DeGagne, and the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario! They will be discussing Land Trusts and Alternative Land Access on April 19th from 1 PM-2:30 PM EST. Let’s dig deep into solutions for the future together!⁠
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Click the link in bio to register for this event, or to join one of the many interesting discussions on food sovereignty and cooperative organization structures for building community and local economies!⁠ The assembly runs up until April 29th.⁠
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Swipe through for more information on the topic and speakers 👉
Please Join Us and our friends @bearstandingtal fo Please Join Us and our friends @bearstandingtal for a Virtual Tipi Commemoration event for the Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Two-Spirit and Gender Diverse. Register here for this Wednesday: 
https://hopin.com/events/s-first-event-f3ca31e8-a7d2-46b0-9561-38dab3143231 

We are pleased to invite you on March 30th for a day of healing and awareness with Bear Standing Tall and Associates. This is an online Virtual Tipi Commemoration event for the Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Two-Spirit and Gender Diverse. The day will be spent  honouring these Life Givers through Support and Action for Ontario First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Families Survivors as well as Ontario Indigenous front-line workers. 

Guest Speakers include Monica Rutledge Indigenous Constable for Toronto Police Department, guests from BC MMIW Team: Alexandra O'daunaghey, Gladys Radek; Highway of Tears Commemoration project, Becky Big Canoe; followup on inquiry and actions across Canada and more!

The goal of this event is to present Indigenous Voices in a way that will educate and engage our audience of 100 guests from Industry, government and community leaders so we can walk away with concrete ideas on how to move forward with reconciliation surrounding the final report of the MMIWG2S, as well as have a better understanding of the deliberate human and Indigenous rights violations and abuses in violence against Indigenous women in Canada.This conference aims to foster understanding, and allyship of non-indgenous peoples by creating a safe space for these important issues to be understood. 

This event is free to attend, but spots are limited so please register today! 

Tipi Commemoration to be unveiled May 5, 2022 in Honour of our Life Givers: Prayers for their return home @evergreen_brick_works
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© 2022 Global Indigenous Development Trust

  • Who We Are
    • Our Story
    • Our Team
  • What We Do
    • Our Projects
    • Our Impact
    • Our Partners
    • Building a Nation Case Study
    • Events
    • In the Media
  • Work with Us
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
Global Indigenous Development Trust