For generations, Indigenous people have been bystanders to natural resource development on their traditional lands.

The dynamic has changed. Court-enforced land and treaty rights put Indigenous people at the centre of a mineral resources exploration boom in Canada. First Nations can make or break a project.

There’s a sense of urgency by government and industry today to extract and send to market critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt and lithium, which are used for electric vehicle batteries, green energy and defence applications, and the high-tech sectors.

“The world is needing these critical minerals, and they are in our backyards,” said JP Gladu, a nationally known Indigenous consultant and strategist as principal of Mokwateh.

To restore trust with Indigenous people, the onus is placed on the resource industry to engage with First Nation communities, a dialogue that should have happened a long time ago, he said.

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