The Stoney Nakoda First Nation, located about 60 kilometres west of Calgary, Alberta, has joined Huatong Petrochemical Holdings Ltd. of Hong Kong in a “huge” exploration and development venture on 49,000 hectares (121,000 acres) of land on the reserve. Nakoda Oil & Gas Inc. will be the primary operator for the project, with Huatong putting up all the capital. The agreement “will hopefully bring us one step closer to self-sufficiency for our nation and people,” said Bruce Labelle, chief of the Chiniki Nation, one of the Stoney Nakoda nations. “We’ve seen a shift from First Nations being service contractors to now being primary producers,” added J.P. Gladu, President of the Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business. (h/t to iPolitics for pointing us to this story)
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