Podcast: From Dependency to Development: A First Nations Governance Success Story
Dr Eric Crampton
18 December, 2024
In this episode, Eric talks to Chief Derek Epp of the Ts'elxwéyeqw (Chilliwack) First Nation about how his community gained extensive autonomy through Canada's First Nations fiscal institutions, enabling them to control their own zoning, development, and taxation.
Chief Epp explains how this framework helped his 750-member band transform from 90% federal dependency to 90% own-source revenue, manage 900 acres serving thousands of non-indigenous residents, restore traditional practices like fish weirs, and become a valued development partner to neighbouring municipalities.
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