Kitsaki Development Corporation economic developer of the year

CANDO Supplement

Page S2

It was the moment the 300 delegates to CANDO's annual conference had been waiting for: to see who would be named economic developer of the year.

The honor would go to one of the four recipients of the CANDO recognition awards. They included Chief John Louis Stevenson of the Peguis First Nation located in Manitoba; the Paskwayak Business Development Corporation, also from Manitoba; the Gitksan and Wet'suwet'en Economic Development Corporation from British Columbia; and the Kitsaki Development Corporation from Saskatchewan.

On the evening of Sept. 26 the delegates cast their ballots, and with that the Kitsaki Development Corporation was voted 1997 CANDO Economic Developer of the Year Award winner.

Harry Cook, chief of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band and president of Kitsaki Development Corporation, accepted the award from Angie Stewart, the president of the council.

"It's a privilege and an honor," said Cook about receiving the award, but quickly added that this type of news needed to be broadcast through the media to prove that "Indians are doing a lot of positive things."

Cook learned a month before the conference that the Kitsaki Development Corporation would be receiving a recognition award. But it was only in Montreal during the conference did he realize the prestigious company he was sharing in receiving that award.

During his acceptance speech, Cook emphasized that Kitsaki Development Corporation was willing to do business with any level of government, and any other business organization, whether Aboriginally run or not.

In a later interview, Cook spoke about the value of CANDO's national conference and how he found it informative.

"I think its unique and very informative for Native people to get together from time to time to share information so maybe some doors could be opened," he said. "It was a good way to find out what's going on in different parts of our country."

He identified several business opportunities available to his people, such as tourism and forestry, and how the other delegates at the conference were a good source of information.

Kelly Lendsay, a member of CANDO's board of directors, as well as director of Aboriginal Business Programs at the University of Saskatchewan, nominated Kitsaki for the recognition award. He felt they deserved the award because of its perseverance and vision.

"When you look at the way Aboriginal economic development is emerging, Kitsaki is the story of perseverance," he said. "We're looking at a 20-year story here. We're looking at vision.

"There's is a story of how politics and business work together," he continued. This award "is really a credit to their chiefs and councils, as well as their managers.

"They do all the things that we need to do to make economic development successful. I felt they deserve the [recognition] award for the maturity they've show in the industry. It's an award that is long overdue for an Aboriginal economic development corporation that's been doing well for over 20 years.

"These people work hard and they care and you just want to tell everyone else about it," Lendsay added.