Native businesses charging ahead

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Small business no longer means small scale to the Native business people, who pushed the entrepreneurial spirit in Alberta to new heights this year.

From the opening of a chopstick factory in Sturgeon Lake to the announcement of a $50 million cultural resort for Athabasca, Native business people in the province have proven they're unwilling to accept limitations.

They have also gained the financial backing to get their projects off the ground.

And if the success of this year's conference on Indian economic Development is any indication, Native entrepreneurs are in store for a windfall opportunity, says a manager for the Alberta Indian Development Corporation (AIDC).

Harold Gray indicated that business investment appears to be growing in northern Alberta while southern Alberta remains economically stable.

"It's taking an upswing," he says. "We see a lot of projects coming on by next summer."

Gray says the AIDC, a Native loans' agency for the federal Native Economic Development Program, expects more than 650 applicants by the end of the year.

He credits September's development conference in Edmonton with sparking business interest.

"It was a way to open the eyes of a lot of people enabling them to get direction," he said.

He expects more loan applications from people in the northern regions but says there are many potential success stories that will evolve on their own.

Gray noted most of the smaller operations in northern Alberta have originated as spinoffs from the oil sands and forestry projects.

The most recent, he said, have been logging and hauling firms that have applied for standard loans ranging from $2,000 to $200,000.

But while smaller businesses are looking to turn a profit in northern Alberta, there have been a number of larger projects that have come on stream using their own resources.

The $3 million Sturgeon Lake chopstick factory started churning out its product this summer with the investment from a China-based company.

Cree Valley Industries Ltd. has carved itself a name in disposable chopstick production and has already injected $870,000 in the local economy by hiring local companies to construct the building. The Native-run company has also hired 75

employees to do the work of cranking out 15 million chopsticks per day.

Another major project, to be located on the banks of the river near Athabasca, will be aimed at a different crowd.

The president of Blackstar Development Corp. recently announced he has received the financial backing he needed to build his 232-room international hotel and convention centre.

Leo Jacobs negotiated a deal with European investors interested in promoting Native culture in Alberta.

He said the three-phrased project, which will focus entirely on Native culture, is scheduled to be completed in 1998.

But southern Alberta bands have also been given a boost with the $873 million Canadian Aboriginal Economic Development Strategy, which was announced in June by Indian Affairs Minister Pierre Cadieux.

It's meant to create business and employment opportunities throughout Canada.

After a two year consultation and feasibility study with Native bands around the country, the plan was announced during a news conference at the Sarcee Reserve near Calgary.