Indigeneity in Cities: Recognition, Misrecognition, and the Economic Stories of Indigenous Persons in British Columbia.

This article examines the economic experiences of approximately one million Indigenous persons living in Canadian cities, focusing on urban Indigenous economic life distinct from rural Indigenous economies tied to traditional practices. Drawing on interviews with diverse Indigenous individuals in Vancouver and Nanaimo, British Columbia, it explores how they navigate economic challenges shaped by colonialism, racism, sexism, and ableism, while employing both customary and non-customary discourses and practices to assert their values and resist misrecognition. The study highlights varied economic roles—including gig work, salaried employment, and reliance on social assistance—and shows how participants use Indigenous relational and treaty-based ideals alongside broader economic strategies to build community, assert agency, and envision how the economic world is and ought to be. The article underscores the importance of recognizing the diversity of Indigenous urban economic experiences and the complex ways Indigenous peoples negotiate identity, recognition, and economic survival within colonial-capitalist contexts.