Project to revitalize area

Page 17

A unique project under way in southeastern British Columbia has found a way to revitalize a piece of history while providing a big economic boost to the region.

The St. Eugene Mission Resort project is currently under construction and, according to project manager Helder Ponte, is one of the largest Aboriginal projects being undertaken in the country.

The St. Eugene Mission Resort is located 6 km north of Cranbrook, and takes up 327 acres of land on the St. Mary's Indian Reserve. The land is held in common by the Columbia Lake, Lower Kootenay, Shuswap, St. Mary's and Tobacco Plains bands, all members of the Ktunaxa/Kinbasket Tribal Council.

"The lands, actually, are an Indian reserve that is held in common by five bands . . . so each band has one-fifth, and is a common holder in interest of the site, so we always had the five bands involved. We have a board of directors from whom we receive direction for the development, and this board of directors has representation from each of the five member bands," Ponte said.

The resort is being built on the site of the historic St. Eugene Mission, which was founded by the Roman Catholic church in 1873. Construction of the mission building itself, which forms the cornerstone of the new resort, was completed in 1912. At one time, the building served as a residential school, taking in Native children from the Okanagan and Kootenay regions. The mission was closed in 1970, and the building has remained unused since, except for a short period in the early 1980s, when two rooms were used for administration offices by the Ktunaxa/Kinbasket Tribal Council.

It was the mission building itself that was the launching point for the resort project, Ponte explained.

"I would say the main idea was, looking at the building, and not using the building, and we were all afraid that one day we would lose the building. So we always thought that we needed to do something with the building and the site," he said. "We did a number of studies, and they all told us the same thing, that we should strive for a destination resort, and that's what we did.

"We would like to use the mission building, give it some use for the future. Otherwise, we will lose that building. It's really a heritage building, of great heritage value. It's the largest building in the southern interior of B.C. from the early 1900s, and if we had not done this, we probably would have lost the building already. So this way, in a sense, we're trying to bring the building back to life by restoring it to a use that will fit, really, the purpose the building was built for," Ponte said.

Although preserving the mission building and historic site was the inspiration for the resort project, the main goal of the resort is providing employment to Aboriginal people. A total of 420 jobs are expected to be created during construction of the project, and when finished Ponte estimates the resort will employ 300 people.

"We see these as key instruments for Aboriginal employment, especially for the younger people, because the Aboriginal population is growing at a much faster rate than the general population, and we are concerned about where are the jobs going to be for the people. And this is one way to address that problem," Ponte said.

When completed, the St. Eugene Mission Resort will boast a hotel, casino and golf course, as well as unique features highlighting the culture of the Ktunaxa people. The golf course opened in May, and the hotel and casino are scheduled to open in May 2001.