The senior vice-president of an Alaskan native-owned corporation will speak at a Maori conference next week about its successful involvement in the oil, gas and mining industries.
The Whakatupu Trust's annual conference will be one of the first Maori forums to put mining on the agenda as a possible investment opportunity.
Trust chair Richard Jefferies says a guest speaker will be the senior vice-president of the Nana Development Corporation, a company owned by indigenous Alaskans.
Mr Jefferies says Maori need to discuss the oil, gas and mining industries rather than letting the Government and private sector drive the agenda.
The two-day conference, Nga Whetu Hei Whai - Charting Pathways for Maori Industry Futures 2013, is being held at Waitangi.
