Aboriginal community leaders’ expression

The Purdy Crawford Chair in Aboriginal Business Studies was
established at Cape Breton University in 2010 in response to
Aboriginal community leaders’ expression of the need for
entrepreneurship, business investment, and corporate skills
training for the purpose of creating a model of self-reliance.
Named in honour of Canadian lawyer and corporate boardroom
leader, the late Mr. Purdy Crawford, the Chair aims to promote
interest among Canada’s Aboriginal people in the study of business
at the post-secondary level.
The Purdy Crawford Chair in Aboriginal Business Studies focuses
its work in four areas:
• Research on what “drives” success in Aboriginal Business
• National student recruitment in the area of post-secondary
Aboriginal business education
• Enhancement of the post-secondary Aboriginal business curriculum
• Mentorship at high school and post-secondary levels
“Meaningful self-government and economic
self-sufficiency provide the cornerstone of
sustainable communities. My wish is to
enhance First Nations post-secondary
education and research to allow for
the promotion and development
of national Aboriginal business
practices and enterprises.”
Purdy Crawford, C. C.
(1931-2014)
Purdy Crawford Chair in
Aboriginal Business Studies
Shannon School of Business
Cape Breton University
1250 Grand Lake Rd, Box 5300
Sydney, NS B1P 6L2
©2015
www.cbu.ca/crawfordMembertou Museum B by Mary Beth Doucette 1
MEMBERTOU MUSEUM B
As Membertou’s economic development initiatives began producing a profit in 2005,
community members again called on chief and council to construct a cultural facility to
preserve the stories, knowledge, and history of Elders who were aging. A previously
proposed museum had been rejected as not economically feasible. The chief and
council wondered what alternatives might achieve the same goal.
BACKGROUND
Membertou is located within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM). In 2005, it
had a population of approximately 725 on reserve, while the population of the CBRM
was over 100,000. Because Membertou was surrounded by the municipality, the
community was land-locked and didn’t have much room to grow. Nevertheless, the
number of community members who wanted to live on the reserve was increasing,
with people moving home to support the economic growth of the community and the
number of young families growing as well. As a result, Membertou Development
Corporation began strategically purchasing plots of fee simple land adjacent to the
reserve.
In 1999, Membertou community members raised concerns that their community was
becoming too focussed on economic development and that cultural heritage and
identity were being neglected by the chief and council. In response, the chief and
council suggested a museum be developed on the Sydney waterfront, a location that
would allow it to service the local community, as well as tourists. A feasibility study
was commissioned for an Aboriginal heritage centre and museum; however, it showed
that the traditional business model for a museum would not be economically feasible.
The proposed facility would cost $25 million to build and, like many other museums,
would not be self-sufficient, requiring external (likely public) funding to be viable.
Membertou decided not to invest in the project because they could not make the
business model work at that time.
In the spring of 2005, when the band’s operations were finally starting to be profitable,
community members were still asking for facilities to be buil