They can use technology, such as geographic information systems, to take inventory of and to explore their traditional land uses. Indigenous people need to become familiar with the working principles of integrated forest management in order to contribute a view which counters the fragmented system of tenured ownership, which reflects government, private, and corporate interests. The prevailing system identifies zones of land use, such as farming and forestry reserves, to protect land. The language used to describe the land identifies outcomes, relationships, quality of quantification and existing characteristics in a given area. There is a basic contradiction between Indigenous and western views of land use.
Aboriginal people face the challenge of having to change the way people think about the land.
The corporate view is acquisitive in nature, seeing resources as commodities. For example, today, tenure in British Columbia is largely held by government, industry and various other interests. Aboriginal groups, such as tribal councils and bands, are invited to sit at round tables to discuss their traditional territories, but discussions are restricted to adherence to the Treaty Process and subject to many other powerful forces. The referral process now in place in British Columbia is not consultation and plays little more than lip service to Aboriginal rights to land use. However, times are changing in relation to economic land uses.