First Nations team up for economic opportunities

Page 1

A joint plan by the Squamish and Lil'Wat Nations to build a $15 million cultural centre within the resort municipality of Whistler got a $7.7 million shot in the arm on National Aboriginal Day.

On June 21, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Minister Robert Nault and Premier Gordon Campbell announced that both governments will ante up a share of the cost to develop 1.6 hectares of provincial Crown land opposite the Fairmont Chateau Whistler Hotel.

The federal government's regional partnership fund is contributing $4.7 million of the cost of construction, and the province's economic measures funding is contributing $3 million. The federal government also spent $392,500 on the project- planning phase in 2001 and 2002. The two First Nations will raise their portion of construction costs through the private sector.

The cultural centre is expected to provide a big boost to economic development opportunities and job creation for both the Squamish and Lil'Wat nations.

The First Nations have signed a 30-year lease with Land and Water BC, with a 30-year right to renewal and an option to buy the land, on which a 25,000 square foot main building and another 6,000 square feet of eco-tour buildings will be constructed.

The cultural centre will house a conference centre, crafts market, theatre, restaurant, cafeteria, gift shop and gallery, and will be a jumping-off place for tour-guide expeditions. Much of the land around the centre will remain undeveloped except for interpretive trails.

On June 26, Squamish Chief Gibby Jacob said, "We're totally excited about it."

In March 2001, the Squamish and Lil'wat First Nations signed a protocol agreement to formalize a process of continuing to work together, share resources and opportunities, and jointly protect Aboriginal title and rights.

Fifty jobs will be created in construction, which is expected to begin in about a year if most of the funding is in place, according to Jacob, and be completed around the middle of 2005.

Asked how big a challenge it was for the First Nations to raise $7 millon or more on their own, he said they had contacted a professional fundraiser and "hopefully it's going to be no challenge, but the likelihood of us getting every dollar and cent is probably better in the range of, I would say, around 50-50. We've still got a ways to go yet, but we're totally confident that we're going to succeed in getting all the funding for this. We're going to build it; we're going to staff it; we're going to own it and we're going to be big players in the resort municipality of Whistler and re-establishing our presence in our traditional territory in that area."

Jacob, who was appointed to the position of land claims co-ordinator and political spokesman for his First Nation in April 2000, indicated that the Squamish and Lil'wat nations were more interested in the final result than the path they were taking to achieve economic prosperity for their people.

He conceded they were leasing land from the province that was rightfully their own land to start with, but said it was the "path of least resistance."

Jacob explained, "If you want to get into business, you've got to have the ability to go with the flow. And you know, we could spend a lot of money litigating, which would eat into the development dollars and profits."

The "rent" they'll pay is "pretty close to negligible," anyway, he said. The Squamish and Lil'wat First Nations, with a combined population of about 5,000 members, have agreed to pay $24,864 a year for the commercial development on the property. The $1 fee for land used for non-commercial community purposes has been waived.

The chief is confident they'll obtain title to the land in the future. "We always viewed that as the ultimate objective, was to own the land, and through our negotiations we negotiated that clause, so at some point in time when we're totally in the black and confident that this thing's going to give u the ability to shake all thedollars we can out of the tourists, we may just pull the trigger and exercise our options.

He said some sectors are naysaying the First Nations' ability to manage a project on this scale because of lack of experience. He said they're prepared to hire whatever help they need on contract while training their own people in management, eco-tourism, cultural tourism and any other skills they identify as necessary to running their own show.

"That's the thing about having money, you can buy expertise, right?"

When the cultural centre is operating, it is expected to generate 15 full-time jobs and up to 31 full- and part-time jobs during peak times of the year.

The cultural centre will provide spin-off opportunities for others among their people who want to be entrepreneurs, Jacob said.

"Our people are patient. From my perspective, you know, the time horizons we're talking about, a lot of things will change, and my view of the First Nations' world is it's going to change totally for the better, and we're just getting a start at it. And our thoughts are that when you start moving down the road, you need successes-First Nations in general need successes you can point at-and for us to be successful only means that we're setting a trail for the other First Nations. That's how I view it anyways."

Both the premier and the Indian Affairs Minister linked the announcement of the cultural centre funding to the 2010 Winter Olympics in their statement on National Aboriginal Day.

The Indian Affairs minister said, "Not only will [the centre] bring jobs and industry to this area; it will showcase the best in contemporary and traditional First Nations' cultures to visitors from around the world. It is also a tangible sign of the partnership with First Nations that is integral to Canada's 2010 bid for the Olympic Winter Games."

On July 2, they learned that Vancouver was successful in its bid to bring the Olympic Winter Games to that city.