In 2012, Carol Anne Hilton initiated a movement with a single hashtag that has resulted in the establishment of a school of thought that focuses on rebuilding and strengthening Indigenous economies. #indigenomic is a wave redefining the definition of economic reconciliation and contribution to the Canadian economy.
Born as a descendant of Nuu chah nulth from the Hesquiaht Nation on Vancouver Island, Carol Anne Hilton is an international Indigenous business leader, speaker, advisor, facilitator, and author, multi-award-winner with an extensive background in community social and economic development.
Carol Anne Hilton holds an international MBA from the University of Hertfordshire, England.
With an extensive business career, Carol Anne is the CEO and founder of The Indigenomics Institute. Her contributions to business and economics, especially the creation of value in Indigenous economies, have earned her recognition as a dynamic national leader and First Nation business leader.
Carol Anne was the only Indigenous person appointed as a senior advisor to the federal Finance Minister on the Canadian Economic Growth Council. Most recently, Carol Anne served on the BC Emerging Economy Taskforce, providing advice to the Ministry of Jobs, Trade, and Technology and the BC Indigenous Business and Investment Council.
Currently the CEO of the Indigenomics Institute and, most recently, the Global Center of Indigenomics. She has served as the Director of the McGill University Institute for the Study of Canada. She is an adjunct professor at the School of
Business at Royal Roads University and a director of the BC Digital Supercluster. Carol Anne was an instructor in the Community Economic Development Program at Simon Fraser University and a faculty lead in the Indigenous Business Program at the Banff Center, where she was also a Fleck Fellow.
Carol Anne’s work in Canada is driving the Indigenous economic target by bringing together the tools, leadership, resources, partnerships, institutions, and investment to build meaningful innovations in designing and expanding Indigenous economies in order to create a sustained national and global impact.
Indigenomics Initiatives
Through her initiatives, Carol Anne Hilton is committed to enhancing Indigenous businesses’ global visibility and inclusion, thus contributing to economic growth. To achieve her target of multigenerational development of Indigenous wealth, Carol Anne is focusing her two decades of experience in community, business development, and economical design and streamlining the expertise, skills, and strategic insights she gained from a broad range of social, ecological, and economic projects to drive an impact nationally and globally.
According to Carol Anne, the inclusion and revaluation of Indigenous worldview and knowledge in economics and business are crucial to resolving the global economic identity crisis. In her book Indigenomics: Taking a Seat at the Economic Table, to solve this economic crisis, she calls for increased visibility, role, and responsibility of the emerging modern Indigenous economy and the people. This is the foundation of economic reconciliation, which she terms “Indigenomics.”
The book critiques the common rhetoric and perception among non-Indigenous individuals that Indigenous people are recipients of government financial support, along with the “economic displacement” they have had to undergo. The book was praised as a manifesto of economic reconciliation and a revelation to non-Indigenous readers about the systematic exclusion of Indigenous peoples from the nation’s economic life.
The book reveals the court cases that challenge Canada’s relationship with Indigenous peoples and exposes the media’s false portrayal of Indigenous dependence. It produces reports and examples of the ongoing power shift and rise of the modern Indigenous economy, shares the opinions of eminent Indigenous business leaders, and creates a new narrative based on the reality on the ground that Indigenous people are economic powerhouses.
It establishes the foundational principles of an emerging Indigenous economy based on relationships and cares for all. Indigenomics calls for a new model of development that promotes Indigenous self-determination, collective well-being, and reconciliation and is considered a must-read for business leaders and entrepreneurs, Indigenous organizations and nations, governments and policymakers, and economists.
Indigenomics Institute
The Indigenomics Institute is an initiative of Carol Anne Hilton that promotes positive leadership and relationships for the growth and development of Indigenous economies and offers Indigenous economic advisory services to public governments, Indigenous communities, and the private sector.
The Indigenous Institute focuses on four core areas for overcoming Indigenous economic barriers, such as
- Dialogue platform for Indigenous economic solutions
- Economic policy/research/analysis/planning
- education/ Training
- Partnership development
Indigenomics respects Indigenous peoples’ profound understanding of the local economy, relationships, and human values and seeks to increase their role and visibility in the new economy. Indigenomics draws on ancient principles that have supported indigenous economies for centuries and aim to implement them as modern practices by understanding the Indigenous ways of being and worldviews.
Indigenomics Awards
Carol Anne Hilton’s work, contributions, and accomplishments have accompanied recognitions and awards. Indigenomics: Taking a Seat at the Economic Table by Carol Anne Hilton was the recipient of the 2022 Nautilus Book Award, winning Silver in the category World Cultures’ Transformational Growth & Development, and was shortlisted for the 2021 Donner Prize.
Carol Anne was awarded the BC Aboriginal Outstanding Business Achievement Award, Creating Wealth Award by the National Indigenous Council of Elders, and the Business of the Year Award by the Nuu chah nulth Economic Development Corporation for her work.
She also received recognition with the 2020 BC Achievement Foundation’s Award of Distinction in Indigenous Business and the 2018 National Excellence in Aboriginal Relations Award from the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.
Indigenous entrepreneurship and changemakers are making a wave in the Canadian economy. To get inspired by such success stories, visit our website https://indigenous-sme.ca/ and for the latest updates, check out our Twitter page @IndigenousSme.
