Indian communities at crossroads over future

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Indian economic development.

That was the phrase echoed over and over at the first major conference in ten years to address the economic issues facing Indian communities today.

Unlike the last major conference organized by the Indian Association of Alberta in 1979 which focused on how Indian communities could strive to forge partnerships with each other, this

conference was broader ins cope from the start.

The conference theme was dubbed "Realizing Our Potential." But it's message was directed to more than an Indian audience.

Organizers brought together a diverse group of people from Indian leaders, government officials to heads of major corporations to discuss the viability of developing Indian economies to their

fullest potential for the 1990's.

And the interest was there.

More than 500 people turned out for the three-day conference from Sept. 26 to 28, triple what organizers expected. Although the turnout created some logistical problems, it has set the pace for

future conferences of its type.

It was a working conference on Indian economic development and for many participants it was a chance to network and to address the issue that faced the 1979 conference -- how do Indian

communities find a common vision to explore their economic potential to its greatest advantage

As conference chairman George Callious emphasized -- addressing the question of unity within Indian communitas is part of "realizing our potential."

"We overlook our potential within ourselves, within our communities within our young people and our leaders," he said, in leading off the conference.

"We also sometimes take for grated the potential we have in working together," said Calliou.

Perhaps Percy Potts, a vice-president of the Indian Association of Alberta said it best: "We have to take advantage of whatever is here to make our lives better."

The conference addressed important issues facing Indian communities today, particularly how to build an entrepreneurial model that will help communities to become viable and economically

self-sufficient.

But in doing so, participants were asked to face that important question of what Indian communities are willing to sacrifice in order to achieve that aim.

The environmental impact of industrial development on Indian communities in the 1990s is a dominating concern with the growth of major industrial development in the province.

At the conference, it was an issue which clearly polarized developers who see the potential for Indian economic growth and Indian leaders who see permanent harm done to the living environments

of their communitas from overdevelopment.

The experiences of other Native communities in Canada validate that fear, according to many who came to the conference.

The conference's aims were lofty but while its difficult to evaluate whether participants were able to get what they wanted - it was self-evident that Indian economic development means that more

and more, Indian people want control over their own lives.

To get that control, however, participants repeatedly made it clear to each other that in the 1990s, Indian communities must compete with the non-Native community in order to be successful.

And as they were told by one successful entrepreneur, who was Indian himself, learning the rules of the game in the world of business is the first step to an sophisticated approach in developing an

economic strategy.

For many people at the conference, Indian economic development was clearly not just a "buzzword" or concept.

It's no longer a dream.

But to make it a reality, as conference participants concede, will take time.

And more conferences like this one.