Indigenous Communities

Entrepreneurship is the result of various contextual factors in the community, which are shaped by social challenges and business needs. Recent research efforts have focused on the dynamics of communities and how they facilitate entrepreneurship among a diverse group of people and organizations. This book highlights research on the importance of communities and their role in providing an entrepreneurial ecosystem that promotes innovation and business activities. Adopting a multidisciplinary perspective, it explores what it takes to create an entrepreneurial community that fosters creativity. Sharing valuable insights, it will enhance readers’ understanding of how entrepreneurship is formed by and exists in communities.

This highly topical collection of essays addresses contemporary issues facing Indigenous communities from a broad range of multi- and interdisciplinary perspectives. Drawing from across the social sciences and humanities, this important volume challenges the established norms, theories, and methodologies within the field, and argues for the potential of a multidimensional approach to solving problems of Indigenous justice.

This book states that whilst academic research has long been grounded on the idea of western or scientific epistemologies, this often does not capture the uniqueness of Indigenous contexts, and particularly as it relates to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs were announced in 2015, accompanied by 17 goals and 169 targets. These goals are the means through which Agenda 2030 for sustainable development is to be pursued and realised over the next 15 years, and the contributions of Indigenous peoples are essential to achieving these goals.

Since the 1970s governments in Canada and Australia have introduced policies designed to recruit Indigenous people into public services. Today, there are thousands of Indigenous public servants in these countries, and hundreds in senior roles. Their presence raises numerous questions: How do Indigenous people experience public-sector employment? What perspectives do they bring to it? And how does Indigenous leadership enhance public policy making?