In 1969, CESO Aboriginal Services began offering the services of its Volunteer Advisers (VAs) to Canada’s First Nations as they began to emerge into a new world of greater self-government and economic independence. Since then, CESO has worked alongside more than 40,000 Aboriginal client-partners  entrepreneurs, Band and Tribal Councils, Non-status, Métis and Inuit communities, and women’s and youth groups from coast to coast.

The goal of CESO Aboriginal Services is to build the capacity of Aboriginal individuals, communities and businesses to achieve greater self-sufficiency and growth.

To support Aboriginal Peoples in achieving self-sufficiency and self-determination, our focus on capacity-building, which we accomplish through:

• The transfer skills and knowledge
• The development of needed products and services
• The accumulation and dissemination of best practices
• The provision of accessible and cost-effective services 

Our VAs work with our client-partners in hundreds of ways to promote the economic growth of the Aboriginal peoples in the areas of Economic Development and Governance. Through the transfer of knowledge by our VAs in areas ranging from new business start-up, to mentoring, to advising on governance and housing, CESO Aboriginal Services continues to build the capacity of Canadian Aboriginal peoples to more fully participate in their communities and in the Canadian economy.

CESO’s Aboriginal activities are sustained through funding from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC).