Indigenous Entrepreneurship in the Canadian Cannabis Industry: A Media Analysis Explored Through Self‐Determination Theory

ABSTRACT First Nations in Canada are exercising inherent sovereignty through cannabis entrepreneurship, enacting community‐based regulatory frameworks and asserting jurisdictional authority over economic activities within their territories. Through analyzing 71 Canadian media articles, this study examines how First Nations governance innovation and economic self‐determination are represented in public discourse. Grounded in self‐determination theory (SDT), this media analysis study contributes to entrepreneurship scholarship by demonstrating that Indigenous economic development must be understood as expressions of autonomy and self‐governance. Despite growing discourse on Indigenous entrepreneurship in Canada, there is a stark gap in understanding the cannabis industry, regulations, and entrepreneurship through the lens of Indigenous self‐determination. We argue that Indigenous cannabis entrepreneurship extends beyond economic opportunities to encompass self‐determination and sovereignty rights but remains constrained by impositions of federal and provincial legal jurisdictions and conflicting community perspectives.