Contributions great, obstacles many: chief

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Economic prosperity for Aboriginal people is not only good for Aboriginal communities, it is also good for Canadians and Canada as a whole. This is the view of new Assembly of First Nations Chief Matthew Coon Come, and the message he brought to Yellowknife and the annual meeting of the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (CANDO) held at the end of September.

Coon Come addressed the economic developers at the conference and spoke of the challenges they meet and the contributions they make in their communities.

"I was involved in economic development when I worked in my home community for the Cree Nation," said Coon Come. "I know the obstacles that you will find yourself up against and it is because of my experiences that I hope to be able to work towards solving the problems you face."

Coon Come promised that "economic development will be a first priority" for the AFN during his time in the top position.

"I will ensure that our Economic Development Secretariat and my office continues to work with CANDO to see how we can find more common ground to support each other's goals. We will keep each other informed about economic development activity affecting First Nations, and I will ensure that CANDO plays a part in our plan and strategy."

He said the AFN is in the process of gathering the best economic and financial minds in Canada to be part of a forum on economic development, saying that Canadians and Aboriginal economic developers need to work together to achieve success.

"These are exciting times in First Nations' country," said Coon Come. "By being involved in Aboriginal economic development, you are playing a role in the rebuilding of our communities and our futures. Never underestimate the contribution you are making to your people and your nations."

CANDO, the goal of which is to strengthen Aboriginal economies by providing economic development officers (EDOs) with training, education and networking opportunities, was founded in 1990 when 50 Aboriginal EDOs decided to address the lack of support for their profession.

In sitting together, the EDOs came to the realization they had a lot in common - their challenges, some of the projects they were working on, said Myron Sparklingeyes, past CANDO president and former board member.

"The EDOs realized that working in isolation across the country didn't make any sense. They should have a forum to exchange ideas."

Soon after the organization got started, said Sparklingeyes, the membership was polled to determine what it wanted from the group.

What members were looking for was networking and information, but they were also looking for some type of training with certification. They didn't want to take training for training's sake. They wanted some form of recognition, and if possible they wanted the courses they took to be transferable for university credit, he said.

"They wanted to increase their skill level, but they also wanted long-term job prospects to increase as well, to diversify their range of job choices. So we implemented the certification program which we call CED - the Certified Aboriginal Economic Developer Program."

"In the business world, qualifications are like security," said Coon Come, showing support for this program. "The certification program will help you go to the bank to negotiate a loan or to attract joint venture partners."

Coon Come also showed support for CANDO's National Indigenous Economic Education Fund, which allows for scholarships and education forums that have a direct impact on the professional development of First Nations economic developers and the communities they serve

The organization, through the Technology of Economic Capacity project, provides $1.6 million in computer software, hardware, and training to 425 Aboriginal economic participating economic developers.

CANDO and Captus Press publish the Journal of Aboriginal Economic Development, providing trends, anlysis and commentary on econmic development from an Aboriginal perspective. CANDO also publishes a yearly Aboriginal Training Opportunities Manual listing education training and professional development opportunities for Aboriginal people across Canada.

CANDO has hosted seven national economic development conferences, including this year's conference held in Yellowknife from Sept. 27 to 30, the theme of which was Let's Make a Deal Opportunities Forum. This took delegates through the life cycle of a business deal.

It's hard to track CANDO's success since its inception, said Sparklingeyes.

"There is a vast increase in the knowledge level in the EDOs that are working. It's hard to separate what time itself would have done and what CANDO itself is responsible for, when you're talking about the knowledge level in the communities, because youth are going off and getting educated and they're not necessarily doing it because they have joined CANDO.

"What we have done though, we've focused more attention, for a young person that is going into school, that being an economic development officer is a viable career and if they get certification, not only is the education relevant to working in the community, but corporations will hire them to do jobs that are similar to being an EDO.

"We've set it up as a profession. That's really what CANDO has done is set it up as a profession, and by doing so increased the competency of people."