b'LAND MANAGEMENT LAND MANAGEMENThas forged several business arrange- Kinoomaadziwin Education Body (KEB)and us to move with the speed of busi-ments that continue to drive economichead office and has space for five smallness and do so with confidence, says growth. We wanted to extricate thebusiness incubators, three of which willNashkawa. Being able to do things Nation from sections of the Indian Actsoon be occupied by businesses from theour way, and operate by our core prin-that were constraining our ability to prop- NFN community.ciples, is more valuable to us than any erly manage our land and build strongbusiness deal.business relationships, says DwayneThe land code has also helped a number Nashkawa, NFNs CEO. Creating ourof NFN entrepreneurs take root andAs the Whitecap Dakota, Westbank and own land code gave us more control overthrive within the community, like theNipissing examples show, plenty of bank-how we do business and more controlEagles Nest Gas Bar and Young Forestry,able opportunities have opened up for over the revenues we generate. alandmaintenancecompany.AFirst Nations communities in the area of number of local entrepreneurs haveland management. As more First Nations This move put NFN on the path to creatingbecome very well established under ourtake greater ownership of their land, they its own constitution, the Nbisiing Gichi- land code, because its enabled themare reaping the rewards that follow.Naaknigewin, which outlines the values and rights of the Debendaagziwaad (those who belong to NFN) and how thecommunityconductsbusiness. Combined, the land code and consti-tution have empowered the commu-nity to explore commercial opportunities complicated by the Indian Act. that would have been constrained and For example, NFN was able to lease a rock quarry to Miller Paving, which later bought an industrial building from the community and brought its sister company, McAsphalt, in to expand its operations. More recently, the land code was a driving factor behind the development of a 10,000-square-foot office building within NFNs Bineshii Business Park. The complex houses theNiitsitapi- Graham LPThe Miller Paving building on land leased from Nipissing First Nation The Aboriginal BUSINESS REPORT13'