STRATEGIC ISSUE #1: VISION

Creating a community vision is often talked about but seldom done. A vision projects the quality of life that citizens desire for their community – its culture and heritage, its social and economic situation, its environment, its political and organizational development – far in the future.

A vision expresses what people want to see blossom for their children and grandchildren. But it is more than that. Equally important is for the vision to look reality square in the face. It must also include an honest analysis of the community’s strengths and weaknesses and what is happening in the wider world. Clarity about what is as well as what ought to be helps community members determine their long-term priorities: what they really have to do if their vision is to become the reality of future generations.

These Big Picture questions are not a matter just for a few people to think about and answer. The community as a whole must discuss them thoroughly. Without wide understanding and buy-in over the community’s long-term priorities, trouble is almost guaranteed.

In the future of most northern communities, natural resources continue to loom large. Traditionally, Aboriginal livelihoods have depended on the health of the water, plants, forest, tundra, wildlife, and fish. While the economic importance of traditional pursuits has receded, their well-being still has much cultural importance. At the same time, the rest of the world has developed an enormous interest in these natural resources – especially in mining some of them.

The extraction of minerals, fossil fuels, and metalsMetals: one of more than a 100 basic earth elements, grouped under minerals. Includes iron, lead, zinc, and copper. from the earth has an impact on the environment that lasts for generations. Local people know this. They do not readily trustTrust: a legal arrangement in which an individual (the trustor) gives fiduciary control of property to a person or institution (the trustee) for the benefit of beneficiaries. the claims of outsiders to new mining practices and greater social responsibility. On the other hand, local people need jobs and they would rather capture wealth than watch it hauled away.

Over next 10 years, big increases in the cost of fossil fuels will be a challenge to miners and Aboriginal communities alike. Carbon emissions from mines are high. It is likely that governments will start to tax these emissions. Both these factors can also be expected to affect the contribution that mining can make to community self-relianceSelf-Reliance: the capacity of a community to plan and build an economic future that suits the values, priorities, and needs of its members..

In short there are tensions. To arrive at a vision a community has to talk about these tensions and choices. Unfortunately, this does not often happen. Thus, Aboriginal communities end up responding to other people’s plans and agendas rather than shaping their own.

It is the responsibility of an Aboriginal community to decide where mining (and all the good and bad effects mining might have) fit in this vision of the future. Could its potential benefits help bring the vision closer to reality? Are there ways to reduce or offset the potential impactsImpacts: the effect or impression of one thing on another such as the impact of a mining project on the life of an Aboriginal community. of mining on the community?

If the answer to these questions is “yes,” another set of decisions must be made. The community has to decide which values, principles, and protections will keep its interests in the forefront of negotiations with a mining company.