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The Board’s Literary Critic

By Dr. Owen A. Anderson

Dances with Dependency: Indigenous Success through Self-Reliance
Calvin Helin (Vancouver: Orca Spirit Publishing, 2009)

Around 1.3 million Canadians report having some Aboriginal ancestry. These include Indians (In Deo – the people of God), Inuit, and Métis. The aboriginal population is growing faster and is much younger than the mainstream population (with well over 50 per cent of the aboriginal population living in urban areas). The fastest growing segment of this population is the Métis.

In his recent book A Fair Country, John Ralston Saul opens with the bold assertion: “We are a Métis civilization.”

Canadians have been shaped and influenced by the First Nations. This interaction will continue and we should welcome the new partnerships that are being created as a result.

We have a subconscious Métis mind, says novelist Guy Vanderhaeshe. It’s his opinion that how we think of things will shape our actions. Saul says we need to internalize consciously the historical fact that the First Nations represent a founding pillar of our civilization.

Canadians as a whole will be dependent on a healthy relationship with aboriginals and the sooner we get on with making that happen, the better it will be for all of us.

Vancouver Board of Trade director Calvin Helin is a lawyer and businessman and the author of Dances with Dependency. The book is designed to help move indigenous populations forward, to give people the hope and attitudes to work together and create educational and economic opportunities. He has a strong belief that we are on the verge of making great progress.

The book features 25 full-page artworks on the culture and cosmology of the Tsimshian Nation, part of Helin’s heritage at Port Simpson. Quite frankly, it is worth the price of the book just for the beautiful images.

The text is also refreshing. Rather than the usual recital of grim statistics, Helin looks at successful economic models in New Zealand with the Maoris, the Alaska native corporations and the Choctaw Tribal Council in Mississippi. Did you know the Northern Alberta Aboriginal Business Association has 86 aboriginal businesses doing a half billion dollars of business each year? There are many more examples in the book demonstrating ethical leadership and economic self-reliance.

The aboriginal file is a policy issue with both a long history and a bright future. Claims and unsolved issues are the elephant in the room for Canadian public policy. As Helin says, “there is reason for optimism. The good news is that aboriginals are in the best position ever to...create wealth and opportunities for all.”

Helin chose the spirit sun mask for the cover of the book for the message it symbolizes, “giving hope for peace, happiness, and a better life.”

I think you will enjoy Mr. Helin’s optimism and considered proposals for reform.

The central message of the book is the need to develop more self-reliance, a universal message that happens to apply to all of us.

Dr. Owen A. Anderson of Hawthorne Consulting Corporation is The Board’s literary critic in residence and reviews books in The Board’s Management Library at BoardStore.com. He can be reached at owen.anderson@ualberta.net.

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