Understanding indigenous strategic pragmatism: Métis engagement with extractive industry developments in the Canadian North

Most academic research still favours conventional conceptualizations of local indigenous communities as subject to circumstance. This conventional understanding of industrial-indigenous relations does not explain recent developments in the indigenous Metis communities of northern Alberta. We argue that indigenous communities often seize the moment through strategic and pragmatic engagement with their ever-changing environments. We develop a framework for understanding the output, outcomes and impact of indigenous engagement with extractive industry.