Indigenous Rights, Indigenous Wrongs: Risks for the Resource Sector

The relationship between corporations and indigenous peoples is complex and often difficult. Companies and indigenous peoples look at the same landscape and see different things. A company will see the potential for harnessing resources to provide revenue and profits; indigenous peoples often see the land as integral to who they are ? incorporating their culture, spirituality, history, social organisation, family, food security, economy, and health. For companies, managing this balance of interests can present a significant challenge. Over recent years oil and gas companies in particular have experienced the enduring damage to reputation that stems from conflict with indigenous peoples.