In response to the growing number of Indigenous trusts in Canada and corresponding issues raised by Chief and Councils, community leaders, and trustees, the National Aboriginal Trust Officers Association (NATOA) engaged Crowe MacKay to lead their Indigenous Sovereign Wealth Project. This is a three-part project with this report completing ¬¬the first phase.
Who is NATOA?
NATOA began as an idea amongst a group of individual First Nation trustees that saw the need to be able to share information and strengthen the collective Trust knowledge amongst Indigenous communities. Since then, NATOA has continually evolved and grown to share knowledge and support their members through Trustee training, annual Trust conferences, the Reconciliation and Responsible Investment Initiative in partnership with SHARE, and their womxns and youth conferences and initiatives.
Crowe MacKay's Trust Expertise
Vickie Whitehead, Director of Indigenous Services at Crowe MacKay, and current Chair of NATOA, brings eight years of experience specializing in Indigenous trust administration and structuring, and over 20 years of Indigenous governance, programming, financial advisory, and policy development. She serves as the lead on this project.
Project Overview
The end goal of this project is to:
- Create a new law for Indigenous sovereign wealth that will allow for distinct needs, culture, language, and governance
- Use the knowledge gained through this project to build on existing wealth management structures and expand them into new, evolving "pathways to sovereign wealth."
- Provide an outline for NATOA for training, guidance, and support for the creation and implementation of Indigenous sovereign wealth structures.
There are three phases of this project: Environmental scan, Engagement, and Implementation. Included here is the summary of the results of Phase 1, which includes Indigenous Trusts, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Trust Law, and a Jurisdictional Review, as well as key findings.
Want to be a part of Phase 2
Contact Michele Young-Crook, President and CEO of NATOA at [email protected] or at (416) 766 1447
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.