A partnership between the University of Canterbury and a Canadian First Nations group is being hailed as a way to share vital knowledge for Indigenous peoples of both countries.
The Tulo Centre of Indigenous Economics from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, is considered a world leading centre for the story of tribal economies.
Associate Professor Te Maire Tau, the head of the Ngai Tahu Research Centre at Canterbury University, says Canadian First Nations have a degree of local autonomy which gives them a head start in tribal economic development.
“We talk about a Māori economy worth $70 billion but that’s just untrue. We’re an adjunct of the pakeha nation state economy. What they have is an economy because they have financial jurisdiction on what’s created on the reserves and within their area. They don’t begrudge the nation state income tax but their local rates, I guess you would call it, and GST goes towards the infrastructure on their reservations or reserves,’ he says.
Dtr Tau says the Tulo Centre can offer iwi Māori valuable lessons in applied economics and managing growth and change.
