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Brave spirits on new paths: toward a globally relevant paradigm of indigenous entrepreneurship research

Kevin Hindle and Michele Lansdowne

Introduction This chapter reports a quest to articulate a globally relevant research paradigm of Indigenous entrepreneurship. In this field, there is an expanding volume of activity in at least five areas: journalistic investigation (we have assembled a database of over 800 nonrefereed periodical articles on American Indian entrepreneurship alone); government policy and programme creation; attention from the established business community (Allen Consulting, 2001); academic investigation (Anderson, 2002) and, most importantly, by Indigenous communities and leaders (Daly, 1994; Hunter, 1999; Pearson, 1999; Trudgen, 2001). The absence of an explicit, globally relevant, research paradigm prevents the achievement of both cumulative effects accruing to research efforts and useful comparison between various policy and programme initiatives. We can no longer avoid the fundamental, research paradigm questions. What are the boundaries of this field? What should be studied within it? In all nations with significant Indigenous minorities, the economic and social deprivation of Indigenous peoples has long been of deep policy concern, but both debate and administration of the issues (particularly the welfare issue) have not been in Indigenous control. Whether the intentions of non-indigenous governance and aid agencies have been malicious or benign, the result of taking responsibility out of Indigenous hands has resulted in a handout culture (Pearson, 1999). Stimulation of Indigenous entrepreneurship has the potential to repair much of the damage through creation of an enterprise culture, which fully respects Indigenous traditions but empowers Indigenous people as economic agents in a globally competitive modern world. Indigenous...