APC Launches Critical Research on Atlantic Aboriginal Economic Development (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia) The Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat (APC) has released two volumes of research entitled Aboriginal Measures for Economic Development and Aboriginal Knowledge for Economic Development.

The research was undertaken to improve the knowledge base concerning Atlantic Aboriginal economic development in order to improve the lives of Aboriginal peoples in the region. The books will be of special interest to academics and those engaged in Aboriginal program development.

“Within Atlantic Canada, we believe that there is limited data and research related to Aboriginal economic development” said John Paul, Executive Director of APC. “This is the first time we as Aboriginal people collectively in the Atlantic region produced critical information to
further the development of the right economic development initiatives for our future. This research is now available to academics and the broader general public.”

The research was commissioned by APC through the Atlantic Aboriginal Economic Development Integrated Research Program (AAEDRIP). APC worked closely with university partners to coordinate, compile and edit the research within these two volumes of research. The AAEDIRP is a unique partnership between the 37 member communities of the APC, the Inuit of Labrador, and twelve Atlantic Canadian universities. The AAEDIRP receives core funding from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC), Atlantic Canada
Opportunities Agency (ACOA), Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) and the Nova Scotia Office of Aboriginal Affairs.

The books provide results from research grounded in the daily lives of Aboriginal peoples in the Atlantic region and seek to improve economic and communal well-being in meaningful and enduring ways. “The protocols, ethics, and guidelines to consultation and community based participation developed by Elders inform all aspects of our work” states Dr. Sharon Taylor, MUN co-chair of the AAEDIRP and chair of the AAEDIRP research subcommittee.

APC partners with the following universities to conduct research, including the research contained in these two volumes:

• Dalhousie University
• Cape Breton University
• Université de Moncton
• Mount Allison
• University
• University of Prince
• Edward Island
• Memorial University of
• Newfoundland
• St. Francis Xavier
• University
• Mount Saint Vincent
• University
• Saint Mary’s University
• Acadia University
• St. Thomas University
• University of New
• Brunswick

Fernwood Publishing, a leading academic publisher in Atlantic Canada of books related to First Nations issues, has published the two volumes of research and they are now available for sale to academics and the general public.

The books are available for purchase through Fernwood Publishing at: http://fernwoodpublishing.ca/