First Nations and Inuit Economies

What do people need and want? In the past, First Nations and Inuit based their economies on land and natural resources. Natural resources are resources which are found in nature such as trees, animals, stone etc. Needs and wants were based on survival – First Nations and Inuit needed and wanted what was necessary to survive.

How will we produce those goods and services? First Nations and Inuit people produced the goods and services they needed very efficiently. They did not waste any of their resources. People mostly lived in family groups and travelled through the year depending on what resources were available. Everyone worked together, everyone had a job to do.

First Nations and Inuit people saw themselves as part of nature. They did not believe anyone “owned” the land. As a result, they were very careful about how they used land and the resources it provided.

How will the goods be distributed? Because everyone helped with the production of goods, everyone shared equally. In hard times, everyone helped one another so that they could survive. Each nation used large areas of land and water to gather their resources. Sometimes these nations had clear boundaries, but many times, even the land itself was shared equally among groups.