b'FINANCEEconomists talk about economic recovery starting in the second quarter [of 2021], but theres still so much up in the airIve actually noticed that Indigenous economic development hasnt seen the slowdown that there has been in some other areasLinda Hartford, CIBCWe make up a lot of service-type businesses that rely on travel and were generally located in the rural areasthats why theres been such a big impact on the Indigenous community,saysShannin Metatawabin, CEO of the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA).Linda Hartford, executive director of Indigenous Trust for CIBC, acknowl-edges the setbacks, but maintains an optimistic outlook. Economists talk about economic recovery starting in the second quarter [of 2021], but theres still so much up in the airIve actually noticed that Indigenous economic development hasnt seen the slowdown that there has been in some other areas, she observes.That said, Hartford recognizes that cyclical shutdowns have exacerbated systemic challenges, and that a lot of communities have been affected, with people out of work, alone and with food supply issuesadditional adversity piled on top of every-thing else. She also confirms the negative impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous communities that rely on the tourism industry. POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTSIn resources, a different picture emerges, particularly out west in Alberta. Were seeing a tremen-dous number of new projects coming through the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC), and in the energy sector there are a lot of exciting new clean- and green-energy projects, says Hartford.Aboriginal BUSINESS REPORT11'