Dances with Dependency: Out of Poverty through Self-Reliance

Solutions are offered to the poverty inherent in indigenous cultures, developing nations, and inner city populations, which have become disempowered by long-term overreliance on mainstream political, social, and economic programs developed for their benefit.These welfare systems easily divest recipients of the resources and mind-sets necessary to become self-sufficient. Solutions range from instituting policy reform and enhancing cultural development to reframing dependency mind-sets. The outcome is an enhanced ability to partner with mainstream initiatives and help create wealth and opportunity.

A b o u t t h e Au t h o r Calvin Helin was born and raised in the small north coastal Tsimshian village of Lax Kw'alaams (Port Simpson) in British Columbia, Canada. At age twelve, he was sent on a quest by his father and grandmother, both hereditary chiefs, with the single-minded purpose of making a difference. In his late thirties, he was named one of the top forty under-forty entrepreneurs in British Columbia by the news publication Business in Vancouver and granted one of the top forty under-forty national awards sponsored by the Financial Post magazine and other major Canadian corporations. Currently he serves as a senior advisor to com- munities, industry, and governments on a variety of key development issues. Mr. Helin is a lawyer, karate instructor, Aboriginal leader, and business- man. In addition, he leads international trade missions to China and New Zealand.

A b o u t t h e I l l u s t r at o r Bill Helin, the author's cousin and an internationally renowned artist and designer, has long pioneered the development of Northwest Coast art. Accomplished in many artistic mediums, he designed the STS-78 space shuttle patch worn by the astronauts of the Columbia Mission in July 1996; contributed to the largest t ot em pol e ever car ved ( 180 f eet , 3 i nches t al l ) , known as t he Spi r i t of Lekwammen (Land of the Winds); and carved the 40-foot Ravensong canoe to help preserve traditional cedar dugout canoe-building knowledge. He teaches Northwest Coast art and contributes much of his work to the preservation of animal habitats.