Introduction

In this issue, we present two articles in Lessons from Research. The first article Where exactly are all the First Nation Businesses? Interpreting the First Nation Business Environment in Yukon, 2008-2021 by Ken Coates and Greg Finnegan examines situation of First Nations Businesses in Yukon Territory. As one of the fastest growing economies in Canada and with one of the longest standing land claims agreement the Yukon First Nation Final Agreements, the expectation was that Indigenous business formation would be high. However, Indigenous businesses continue to be underrepresented in the Yukon economy. While there are data challenges in collecting data on Indigenous businesses, a complex picture of factors affecting Indigenous businesses emerges. Future business development will require co-ordinated efforts by First Nations, Territorial, and Canadian governments to address well.

The second article Social value of renewable energy in remote, northern, Indigenous communities by Anne Lim, Greg Poelzer and Bram Noble addresses an important and critical issue facing Indigenous communities across the country: developing a source of renewable energy to be able to move away from diesel-dependent generation. The article moves beyond the usual frameworks of evaluation that speak to contribution to sovereignty, self-sufficiency, and economic reconciliation to include social value. The authors outline a pathway that communities could follow to increase the social value of renewable energy projects: building relationships, capacity building, decreasing centralized bureaucracies of utility structures and safeguarding ecologies.