I have to give credit where due to the CBC. They ran an excellent piece on how the lack of private property ownership on First Nation reserves puts indigenous entrepreneurs at a disadvantage in securing credit for their business ventures..Private home and land ownership has been essential for many people in building personal equity which can be used for retirement, business start-ups or handing wealth down to children. People living on reserves are deprived of the ability to build wealth that way and it's a key part of why poverty and inadequate housing are chronic issues on reserves..Employment opportunities are limited on reserves. They are often in isolated areas without easy access to markets. The prime employer on most reserves tends to be the government and it is often little more than a work for welfare program. Ambitious citizens on reserves are drawn to self-employment because of this. With new opportunities in virtual businesses, there is tremendous potential for business start-ups on even the most remote of reserves. Even virtual businesses need capital to begin with though and there lies the problem..I am not a fan of banks and I have dealt with the frustration of tight lending practices when it comes to small businesses. When my wife and I opened our pub, we had to use non-traditional lenders and even after maintaining a perfect credit record and making a profit for five years, we couldn’t qualify for a company credit card. We had to use our personal ones. We never would have been able to finance the pub if we didn’t have home equity as a form of collateral..I don’t blame banks. Business loans are high-risk, particularly in the hospitality industry. That’s why a system of collateral-based loans has evolved..Reserve residents don’t have that ability. If a person living on a reserve defaults on a loan, there is no property a lender can seize to recover their loss. It just makes the risk too high to take on..Private home ownership would improve living conditions too. People passing through reserves often wonder why the homes are usually in such terrible condition though they were often recently built..When a person doesn’t own the home, they have little incentive in maintaining it or trying to add value to it. Have you ever put premium gas into a rental car? Citizens on reserves live in their homes at the whim of the band council. It's not their property, and they could conceivably be evicted from it on a whim. On some reserves where there is band corruption, a well kept home could actually become a target if a person connected to the council needs a new spot to live in..Home equity is an integral part of retirement savings for many people. First Nations people are often trapped in a cradle to grave dependency on government support. The ability to own property could break them out of that cycle..The article in the CBC did note that there are fears that private property could be sold to non-reserve people if private property rights were granted..So what?.That is the point of private property. The ability to do with it as you please..How long do we want to maintain these poverty ridden racial enclaves we call reserves anyway? What sort of future is there for citizens in these failed models of collectivism and dependency?.Reserves should be divided up among the citizens so they may choose individually what the disposition of their land will be. Many if not most will stay, but they will then have the means to pursue business initiatives or the growth of their personal equity through property. The culture and community on reserves won’t vanish if citizens are allowed to own property individually. Let’s not pretend the cultures are doing great on many of those reserves as it is..First Nations citizens can own private property if we just changed the Indian Act. People are under the misconception that the state of reserves or First Nations policy is set in stone somehow. That the constitution prevents change or treaty obligations do. That isn’t the case. The Indian Act is what guides most of the policies. Like any other piece of legislation, it can be amended or scrapped if the political will and courage to do so can be found..The status quo with First Nations reserves isn’t acceptable. Despite constant injections of more and more money, living conditions remain deplorable. We need to radically change and reform the entire system and individual property ownership will be key to those reforms..It won’t be easy, and it won’t happen soon. If we see the state broadcaster willing to broach the issue though, we can see that the cause isn’t hopeless.
