FRASER INSTITUTE: The total assessed value of Westbank First Nations lands (Indian Reserves 9 and 10 within the city of West Kelowna) rose more than 600% after inflation from 2005 to 2019
First Nations people living on Indian reserves are the most disadvantaged segment of Canada’s Indigenous population. Yet the situation is not all bleak because some First Nations are finding a path toward prosperity. Scholars, like journalists, often focus on bad news, but we should also study the good news to see what can be learned from successful First Nations. Westbank First Nation, located in British Columbia on the west side of Okanagan Lake opposite Kelowna, is a highly successful First Nation, and its achievements offer important lessons to other First Nations as well as to Canadian policy makers. Westbank First Nation (WFN) has combined individual property rights, in the form of certificates of possession (CPs), with a system of government enabling these rights to become useful in the economy. The lesson is that neither property rights nor government can succeed on their own, but the two together can become a powerful engine of wealth creation.