Award winner emphasizes resource development

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The efforts of Chief Clarence Louie to improve the economic situation for the Osoyoos Indian Band has been recognized by the Council for the Advancement of Native Developments Officers (CANDO), with the chief receiving an Economic Developer Recognition Award, and being named Economic Developer of the Year.

Chief Louie received the recognition at the annual CANDO Economic Development Conference, held in Yellowknife, N.W.T. Sept. 27 to 30.

As chief of the Osoyoos band for the past 14 years, Louie has always made economic development a priority. That attitude has translated into a number of successful and profitable ventures, operating under the umbrella of the Osoyoos Indian Band Development Council (OIBDC). The OIBDC currently operates eight businesses, and is working on expanding into further ventures.

The OIBDC currently operates Nk'Mip Vineyards, the largest privately owned vineyard in Canada, boasting 250 acres of premium wine grapes; Nk'Mip Campground, the biggest campground in the South Okanagan, with 251 camping sites; and Nk'Mip Forestry, with 30,000 cubic metres of logging each year, as well as a silviculture component.

Also operating under OIBDC are Inkameep Construction company, which is involved in commercial and residential construction, both on- and off-reserve; Nk'Mip Gas & Convenience Store, a $2 million retail operation; and OIB Holdings, which has residential and agriculture leasing of more than 1,050 acres.

Another OIBDC venture is currently undergoing a growth period. Nk'Mip Canyon Desert Golf Course is undergoing a $3.1 million expansion this year, expanding from nine holes to 18, and gaining a new club house.

Although the majority of the OIBDC-owned businesses operate on reserve, the band has expanded past those boundaries. Last year, the OIBDC purchased local cement company Oliver Ready Mix, which became the band's first off-reserve business acquisition.

"It is rare that First Nations venture off the reserve for business developments," Chief Louie said during a presentation at the CANDO awards. " Yet in order to maximize your business opportunities, First Nations business scope has to focus beyond their reserve boundaries and seize business opportunities wherever they exist."

The latest addition to the band's group of businesses was a dry log sawmill, set up in August with an American partner. The mill is expected to process 25,000 cubic metres of wood annually, for a gross revenue of $2.5 million.

In the works are a number of new business ventures, the most ambitious being the $25 million Nk'Mip project, to be located on 1,200 acres of the band's lands near Osoyoos Lake. The finished project would see the creation of an eco-tourism destination, complete with a year-round RV park, a Native interpretive cultural centre, a golf course, winery, 120-room hotel, marina, store and gas bar, and other tourist attractions such as miniature golf and trail rides.

The first phase of the Nk'Mip project would see a $1.3 million expansion of the existing campground, adding 72 fully serviced, year-round RV sites. The second phase is development of a winery, with a target date to be up and running in early 2003.

The OIBDC is currently looking to getting involved in a joint venture with Vincor International, North America's fourth largest winery, which, if it proceeds, would make the venture the first Aboriginal-owned winery in North America.

Phase three of the Nk'Mip project involves plans to develop accommodations on the site, including a hotel, small inns, and maybe some bed-and-breakfasts. The expanded golf course and interpretive centre are also included within phase three, with completion anticipated in 2003.

"In 1994 our band was in the same situation as most bands in Canada. Federal transfer dollars exceeded the band's self-generated revenue. Today, six years later, the Osoyoos Indian Band's self-generated revenue is seven times more," Chief Louie said.

"Every Aboriginal community needs t create more self-generated revenue-the fact is social costs accelerate every year-therefore, on the other side of the ledger, self-generated revenue must also increase.

"Now I can understand and sympathize with most Native communities who cannot contribute to their own programs and services because of their lack of economic development . . . many times their locations just don't give them the opportunity to get involved in business growth. With one in three bands in financial trouble, I can fully understand when someone cannot afford to give. But through my travels I know and I have seen a few bands who should be able to contribute to their social and cultural needs yet their priorities are elsewhere," he said.

"It is through the efforts of the leadership of the Native communities-the Elders, the women, the youth, the chiefs and councils and organizations like CANDO-that Native people are once again getting involved and becoming major players in their economy.

"We as Aboriginal people have to change our mindset from operating grant economies, that are dictated by government procedures and policies, to developing and operating revenue-generating, job-creating companies.

"Therefore, Natives need to be developing business-minded people, revenue-creating people," he said.

"For thousands of years Native people were part of the local and regional economy. Yet over the last 100 years Natives have been marginalized and denied their right to provide for themselves and their families.

"Social ills need to be addressed but they will never be overcome unless there is a strong, viable business program, designed by business people like yourselves. As (former) national chief Ovide Mercredi stated: 'It's the economic horse that pulls the social cart.'

"My message is of the vital importance of creating business people and business attitude which will allow for Aboriginal entrepreneurs to compete in the business world," Chief Louie told those gathered for the CANDO conferenc. "This message is more meaningful than the particulars of the Osoyoos Indian Band Development Corporation."