As First Nations, we must stop waiting on Ottawa and start working towards our dreams

Within a mere two years, in 2011, Ellis was elected chief councillor, and Haisla were negotiating directly with industry—signing milestone commercial agreements on what became the LNG Canada project. I will never forget the reaction of federal and provincial bureaucrats when I first said our nation was acting as a proponent—not a bystander—on an environmental assessment. They looked at me with great disbelief. Now, Haisla are preparing to bring Cedar LNG—the world’s first Indigenous-majority-owned LNG facility—into full operation. We went from struggling from one federal transfer payment to the next, to structuring global commercial deals. This is a story every First Nation across Canada has the ability to tell—if they choose it. We absolutely must hold government accountable for its legal and fiduciary obligations to First Nations, but we can’t keep waiting for Ottawa’s social programs to change our reality. Federal governments change. Even within a party, priorities shift as each leader brings new vision and ambitions. We witnessed this with the exit of a socially focused Trudeau government, and the entry of the Carney government, increasingly set on leveraging resources to rescue the national economy—a transition that seemed to shock many voters. However, what should not change is our commitment to setting our own path—with our own revenue streams, creating our own opportunities. In Haisla, that meant negotiating commercial deals with multinational partners, investing in skills training and infrastructure, and bringing our people into the boardroom as owners, not just handing them jobs. Most importantly, it meant recognizing our language, land, and values as foundational strengths to our economic success—not barriers like many would have you believe. This isn’t an easy path. It’s uncomfortable. It requires the courage to think differently, take risks, and lead through critique, both from within our own nations and from the Canadian public. But if we want to move beyond managing poverty, we need to move ourselves to a place where we are managing prosperity. So, while it’s critical we hold Ottawa’s feet to the fire on its fiduciary obligations, we must pivot away from treating each budget or program announcement as the lever that will move us to our destiny. Our energy should be redirected towards rewriting that destiny ourselves—building businesses and securing equity in major projects as leading proponents in our own territories. As I have learned from the Haisla people, when we stop waiting for permission, the possibilities open wide.