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(Updated February 17, 2012)

Drama, 4:41 minutes, English, ON, 2007

In the Aboriginal community people like to tell stories.  Stories about frog, raven, coyote, bear – how each of these creature’s experiences can teach us a lesson about life that makes each of us better people.  One of these stories, “The crab basket”, has almost become one of those urban myths as well as a pan-Indian story adopted by many First Nations.  It was one of the first stories I heard when I worked as Director of Economic Development for the Ktunaxa Nation Council.  While technically we have no crabs in our territory (at least the kind that live in the water), the story had relevance to my Bands and Nation.  Often used as a tale in community economic development, the story goes…

A young man walks onto a wharf and sees an Indian contently fishing for crabs.  The two men begin conversing.  The young man notices that beside the Indian sits two large baskets.  The one with a lid on it is weighted down with rocks; bangs continually reverberate from the lid by the crabs below it who are frantically hitting the cover to escape.  The other basket has no lid.  The young man looks in to see several crabs sitting on the bottom, virtually lifeless.

The young man asks, “You have two baskets of crabs one with a lid, the other without.  Why?” 

The Indian replies, “Oh the one with the lid are white crabs.  If you leave the lid off they’ll climb out and get away.  The other basket without the lid has red crabs.”

“So why are they different?  Why are the red crabs just lying on the bottom?  Are they dead?”  The young man asks.

“No,” the Indian man says.  “Whenever a red crab tries to crawl out of the basket, the others pull it back down.”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that story told at conferences, in speeches, by many Aboriginal leaders of many backgrounds – business, education, health, and politics.  It always leads me to wonder, if this story is about our communities, our people, how can this story be changed?  How can we help those red crabs get out of that basket?  Among the answers lie economic development, self-esteem, culture, pride, values, perspective, opportunity, and education.

Over a discussion with a friend about North American society values, quality of and standardized education, and labour, unions and their employers, I told the crab story.

His question, “What does the basket symbolize?”

“That depends on what the topic is,” I replied.  “It could be education, community, but let’s just say it is the economic and social environments of a community.”  But in the back of mind I wondered, What if that basket is the community?  What is wrong with that basket?  Or should we ask, what is wrong with not wanting to stay in the basket?  Should we really try to encourage people to leave like the white crabs?

Confidently he said, “You have to change the basket.”

And I began to think about how that basket can be viewed.  If it were the community, what can be done to make the community a more joyous place to live?  I thought of the gatherings held in different communities.  The way many Bands ensure their people have firewood and food, the kids have Christmas presents, the Elders can stay in their homes because support services are available to them, the kids learn their language and about their culture and history, and new houses and schools are being built.  And I thought too of those villages where opportunity are few, there isn’t a Band hall for people to gather, people are afraid to voice their opinions or feel their concerns will not be heard, and where there is high alcohol, drug and physical abuse.  And I couldn’t forget those people that do work in their community, but are beat and pulled down with verbal slander, jealousy and hatred by people who are supposed to be their friends.  No wonder people want to leave those communities or resort to self-exile, what reason do they have to stay?

The “basket” is not such a wonderful place for many Aboriginal people.  High unemployment rates, high youth suicide, high alcohol, drug and physical abuse, poverty, poor housing, lack of economic opportunities, poor health, and low life expectancy have become interwoven into the spokes of our communities.  In Canada more than half of registered Indians live off-reserve (out of their communities), many have moved to urban centres seeking “a better way of life” than the one they left behind.  Few find it.  Poverty prevails among Aboriginal people in urban settings along with alcohol, substance and physical abuse.  BC has roughly 170,000 and of these an estimated 40,000 live in the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD).  In this area, of the homeless, over 30 percent are Aboriginal of which 7 in 10 are living on the streets (SPARC Homeless Count 2005).  The balance move from shelter to shelter; they have no permanent home.  The homeless rate is alarming in a province where Aboriginal people represent 4 to 5 percent of the population.

What contributes to this dreadful fate?  The answers were not revealed in the study.  Are the baskets, the homes and communities of these people a place to be escaped?  It is all in the way you interpret that basket.  For those that think it is better elsewhere, the goal is then, “Get me out of here!”  But to change the story you have to ask, “What is the goal of the individual, community and nation?  What elements went into creating and maintaining that basket – i.e., education, economic environment, values, resources, knowledge, and people?  What values, principles have to be promoted to change the view of that basket and the basket itself?”

Someone said, “The greatest asset of a nation is its people.”  The knowledge and experience of those people is what will change that basket.  This is gained through education.

Few of our Aboriginal youth are completing high school.  According to the 2001 Census only 41 percent of youth living on-reserve are finishing, a slight increase from 1996’s rate of 37 percent.  In First Nations where more than 40 percent of our people are youth and our birth rates are 1.5 times greater than the Canadian rate, time is of the essence.  Change must occur.  What is wrong with education to youth, or to their family, and to their community?  Is it seen as something for those “Who think they are better than others”?  Are people afraid of what they will learn?  Are people afraid of those that do learn?  Do some feel inadequate?  Does the school system fail them?

Ask some of the Elders who are Indian residential school survivors their view on youth and education and don’t be surprised if they reply with comments like, “School taught me discipline and skills I could use – writing, math, reading.  Our youth need discipline.  Many youth can’t even write.  They don’t respect what they have.”

A conversation with an African-American man one day led to his comment, “My father told me to get an education because there was a time when we were not permitted to go to school (or to learn).”  Education to his family was a right, a right that they were going to exercise because their ancestors were banned from that right based on the color of their skin.  Many African people were also punished, beaten and killed for becoming educated.  An educated African was to be feared because it meant they could understand, learn their rights, make change, become independent, be leaders in their community, and rise up and above the social disgrace their masters/captors forced them to live.  To his family, education provided choices and was a means to a better life.  It was not to be shunned, but to be held in high regard and to honor those that attained it.

For our Aboriginal ancestors, they too faced abuse through education.  In the late 1800s, First Nations were forcibly removed from their communities to be educated in a residential school, and then after denied access to college and university education because they were Indians.  There was a day that the only way a registered Indian could go onto post secondary studies was to resign their right to be recognized as an Indian.  The view was that an educated Indian earned the right to be “Non-Indian” and thus gained access to societal benefits that an uneducated Indian was denied.  Canada felt an educated Indian should feel privileged to be considered non-Indian.  It wasn’t until the early 1970s that registered Indians could choose to attend a provincially operated public school; this was when Indian education was first shared by the federal government, as the primary agent, with the provincial.

In 1972, the National Indian Brotherhood (NIB, subsequently the Assembly of First Nations) wrote National Indian Brotherhood Releases Indian Control of Indian Education which recognized life long learning as a part of First Nations culture.  “Education began at birth and continued through one’s entire life… they were taught according to their role as a contributor to society.”  The paper proclaimed, “The right to education had been negotiated through the treaties” and referenced the Indian Act of 1876 where it was entrenched.

So then why are so many Aboriginal people shirking education?  It is a right that our ancestors enforced, that contributed to the survival of our communities and nations and languages, and that in recent times our political leaders succeeded in having it established in legislation as a right.  There are Aboriginal people who value education.  The average age of the Aboriginal post secondary student is higher than non-Aboriginals; more mature Aboriginal people have returned to post secondary studies.  Where are the young? 

For registered Indians, the post secondary tuition fees and a living allowance may be provided by their Band, thus removing the barrier of money.  And when the Band can not cover these costs, the student can make application for a student loan.  For those who don’t want to leave their community, more credited college and university courses are available by correspondence and on-line (the Internet), and many B.C. community colleges have become universities.  Education is more accessible than it ever was.

Why are so few Aboriginal people exercising this right, especially when so many rights of Aboriginal people are being degraded?  Common advice of our leaders is “Exercise your rights now before they are lost.”  If we don’t use them, they no longer become part of our culture, like the lessons taught to us by raven, bear, coyote, frog and crab.

Education must be promoted as a wonderful thing to be gained, and that it doesn’t stop the day you get your high school diploma, or walk out of that classroom throwing your books against the wall saying, “I don’t need it.”  You will always need it.  Lessons are all around us.  When we stop learning, we stop living, and we stop fulfilling our responsibility to ourselves, our family, our nations and we dishonor our ancestors and the leaders who fought for our right to education.

Should each of us become lackadaisical like the red crabs and accept less out of life than we are able to achieve to appease what is becoming the status quo in our communities?

The movie Spelling Bee (of an inner city African-American girl who goes on to win the national spelling bee contest) quotes Marianne Williamson, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond imagination.  It is our light more than our darkness which scares us.  We ask ourselves – who are we to be brilliant, beautiful, talented, and fabulous.  But honestly, who are you to not be so?”  When we give ourselves permission to be all that we were born to be, we give others the courage to face their fears and to be who they were intended to be. 

———–

Beverley O’Neil is a citizen of the Ktunaxa Nation, President of O’Neil Marketing & Consulting and Numa Communications Ltd., as well as a freelance writer.  Tel. (604) 913-1905  www.designingnations.com

Diabetes and obesity are the modern day smallpox and tuberculosis of First Nations communities. The diabetes rate in Canada’s Aboriginal people is three to five times higher than the general population with the main causes being poor diet and lack of exercise. Type II diabetes causes kidney failure, cardiovascular disease, blindness, lower limb amputation, increased susceptibility to infection, and increased risk of tuberculosis reactivation. In Manitoba, 90% of lower limb loss amongst Aboriginals is of people with diabetes, compared with 10% of Canada’s general population. Once considered an adult disease, Type II diabetes is now appearing in children under age 14. Before 1980, this type of diabetes was unrecorded for children. By 1997, 58 cases were reported in Manitoba Aboriginal girls.

Like diabetes, obesity shortens life expectancy. For Aboriginal people whose life expectancy already lag behind Canada’s mainstream population by 8.1 years for males and 5.5 years for females, the question is, how much more time can Aboriginal people lose? On average, Aboriginal men only live to 68.9 years and women 76.6 years.

Obesity though is a growing problem, so large in fact the World Health Organization (WHO) in November 2006 called obesity “the greatest epidemic in developed countries” – countries seemingly with everything except good health.

In First Nations, health problems are one of the few “developed nation” characteristics gained. A 2006 study completed by the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) found that over half of Aboriginal youth are overweight or obese (58.5%). The problem is getting bigger with each generation. Aboriginal children ages 3-11 years are less active and consume more junk and processed foods than older Aboriginal children. A compulsion for video games and television are keeping them on their butts indoors when not long ago kids spent time outside kicking soccer balls, and raiding gardens for fresh carrots, peas and strawberries. Replace the healthy vegetables with treats of potato chips, soft drinks and candies, and those treats suddenly become the Halloween trick. Then in their teenage years mix in “adult vices” like cigarettes and alcohol and supplement those addictions with dropping out of high school, and you have a recipe for self-destruction. High school dropouts earn less income and account for 85% of funds spent on income assistance. They also have poorer health and higher social problems than graduates.

There are more factors to obesity than just education and diet – education and residency are connected too. Neighbourhoods of low education levels are more likely to have overweight and obese residents… even if an individual’s education level is high. The AFN study too found that community size also influenced youth obesity. Aboriginal communities with populations of 1500 or more had a larger rate of childhood obesity than small Aboriginal communities… the bigger the bigger.

These two findings on location may reflect the value of the community to government and business. Lower educated neighbourhoods and communities fall victim to the affluent. The more prosperous a neighbourhood, the more able they are to lobby government, the more likely developers and governments will invest, so resources are made available. The underprivileged who are unrepresented may lack parks and fitness facilities, people may be reluctant to go outdoors in fear of safety, and they may not know how to get government to address their concerns. Gold River First Nation on Vancouver Island suffered from a polluting sawmill located across the river for decades until the government finally moved them in the late 1990s.

Obesity like type II diabetes differs from the former epidemics Aboriginal people suffered; these diseases are self-induced and within each person’s ability to change. Health is cured by the loving care of people, communities, and especially good governance. It takes leadership, planning, and commitment… and believe it, economic development is an essential prescription.

As for small Aboriginal communities where youth are fitter, the majority are in rural and isolated areas where outdoor activities are abundant, traditional hunting and gathering thrive, and fast food outlets are non-existent. Health there reflects individuals’ lifestyle and cultural activities than government will and modernization.

Governments at times take action. In the mid 70’s Canada had a program called “ParticipAction” delivered in schools. Inspired by the Montreal Olympics, school kids earned gold, silver and bronze badges for achieving different fitness levels. British Columbia recently launched “ActNOW” to get kids and families active. As for Aboriginal people, health and fitness seem unimportant. Canada passed health responsibility to provinces without increased funds, and First Nations are accepting this same empty wallet. The result is diminishing health. Decision-makers determine the care Aboriginals receive based on formula and budget, not on the best-interest of the individual… people the decision-makers have never met. Initiatives that would promote health like self-directed care, community facilities, and economic development are considered discretionary.

In some areas, Aboriginals are influential. In B.C.’s interior, the Siska First Nation near Lytton saw forestry eradicating their watershed. It was threatening the health of Chief Fred Sampson’s community of 292 people. Sampson encouraged a program to help his people demonstrate their Aboriginal rights and title and revive cultural activities to protect their territory. Through non-timber forestry of harvesting berries and plants, Siska Traditions began. It makes low-sugar jelly spreads, syrups, teas and soaps while teaching culturally sustainable practices and food safety employing community members, some who were social assistance dependent. Siska’s store adds to the local tourism industry.

Aboriginal owned companies are also accepting health responsibility. Near MacTier, Ontario, the Moose Deer Point First Nation business Niigon Technologies implemented health programs into employee and community relations initiatives offering fitness incentives like running shoes, and support to community members to quit smoking.

Communities that have not considered economic development and community planning as an antidote to their health epidemic are contributing to their people’s demise.

WHO said “Agricultural policy influences public health by affecting the supply, availability, safety and affordability of foods.” Governments need to ensure “the availability of healthy food at a reasonable price for the entire population, and develop the local and regional infrastructure for good accessibility of commercial services.” Shamefully junk and processed foods are easily available, can be less costly and so easily chosen over healthy foods.

Agriculture and Agri-food Canada too have been working with First Nations to develop the first national Aboriginal agriculture strategy to promote Aboriginal involvement in the industry from community production and planning to cultural foods, farms and food production. Two Aboriginal-driven agencies, the First Nations Agriculture Association in B.C. and the Indian Agriculture Council of Manitoba Inc. offer Aboriginals agricultural support in local horticulture, advocacy, training, and provide technical advice.

Community economic development should encourage grocery stores, community gardens and farmers markets over attracting fast food restaurants and convenience stores. Hesquiaht First Nation with support from CMHC’s Aboriginal Housing Committee of B.C. built community gardens to bring fresh vegetables to this isolated island village.

Aboriginals need education on nutrition and lifestyles with incentives that make eating healthy fun. Incentives and prizes should promote health and physical activity – instead of electronic games and televisions, why not sports equipment, cultural activities and events? Trade fast food for grocery stores, candy bars for fruit, video games for street hockey, and cigarettes for carrot sticks.

“Competition was very intense,” said Andrew George Jr., Journeyman Cook / Chef, when he recalled the 1991 Culinary Olympics in Germany where the Native Canadian Haute Cuisine Team rocked the competition.  At these Games, it is a race against your opponents and the clock.  As with the Jamaican Bob Sled Team at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, the Native cuisine team entered the Culinary Olympics as unknowns.  A significant difference between them is the Native team had their cultural traditions from First Nations across Canada guiding them along their journey.

Andrew’s team mates were upcoming Aboriginal Chefs Bertha Skye from Six Nations, Arnold Olson from Saskatchewan, Brian Sappier from New Brunswick, and David Wolfman of Toronto (who now has a show on APTN called “Cooking with the Wolfman”).  As unknowns, this team rocked the competition where 13,000 Chefs from 54 countries competed.  The Aboriginal team fused their knowledge of Indigenous foods with modern methods and ingredients to earn seven gold, two silver and two bronze medals.  The team became heroes and role models to the Aboriginal community just as professional hockey players often are to young boys.

Similar to sports, Andrew says cooking is a trade where, “Like the Olympics, whether it is winter, summer or the Special Olympics, it takes a special talent to do what you are doing.”

Who would have thought that cooking would be as competitive as sports, and that cooking shows would be as popular among young people today as the Olympics.  Television shows like “The Iron Chef” and “Hell’s Kitchen” have become as popular to youth today as “Happy Days” and “Beverly Hills 90210” were to other generations.

Culinary Arts though is a competition in which anyone with the love of food and the knack for creativity and perfection can achieve success.  NPR Radio host Neal Conan said that to be a great Chef you need to “Combine equal parts imagination and training.  Add a heaping dash of talent.  Top it off with the ability to stand over a hot stove for hours.  And don’t forget a passion for food.”

For Andrew, his passion for cooking began as a child.  Growing up in Northern BC, Andrew is one of six children of WWII veteran and hereditary Chief Andrew George Sr.  As is the responsibility of a Wet’suwet’en hereditary Chief, the young Andrew grew up walking the families’ traditional lands, learning how to care for them and the responsibilities of a hereditary Chief to ensure the continuation of cultural values, traditions and ways.  Andrew Jr. learned trapping, hunting, fishing and harvesting, and how to prepare salmon, deer, elk, rabbit, and berries using cultural methods, all by watching his mother.  “She is an excellent cook,” says Andrew.  His grandmother taught him at age five to make bannock.

Andrew learned that, “Food in the feast hall, is WHO we are.”  The quality of food you produce and serve at the feast shows your wealth and how well you fulfill your cultural responsibility.  Andrew says, “When you look after the land, the land will look after you.”  To him, being a chef for 24 years helps him to bring hunting and gathering into the modern era.  He says, “A huckleberry is the same to a First Nation person as the olive to an Italian or Greek.”

The teachings of his parents and grandparents prepared Andrew Jr. for induction as hereditary Chief in 1998, and he was given the name Skit’den meaning “the wise man”, which equipped him as a role model for other aspiring Aboriginal chefs.  Andrew’s leadership was recognized by the Industry Training Authority in 2008 when he was named Aboriginal “Top in Trades”.

When Andrew was in Junior High, he began cooking for his household of five siblings and his parents.  One would have thought it was a ploy to get out of doing dishes, but Andrew proved this theory wrong when he took summer jobs in mining camps and restaurants cooking, and then in 1983 enrolled in the Vancouver Vocational Institute in cook training for Core-Short Order Cook, Institutional, Camp Cooking and the A La Carte program.  His apprenticeship training was done at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), with the required employment experience gained through various Vancouver hotels and restaurants, eventually progressing to the high end gourmet kitchens of the Four Seasons Hotel and Chateau Whistler Resort.  When Vancouver hosted Expo ’86, Andrew celebrated First Nations foods as the head grill cook for the Folk Life Pavilion First Nations Restaurant.  Then, in 1989, Andrew became a Journeyman Red Seal Cook.

Hallmark events like Expo ’86, the Culinary Olympics, and Winter Olympics have been a step in the careers of other Aboriginal people who have taken Culinary Arts training.  Industry Training Authority Senior Aboriginal Lead, Gary McDermott, began his post-secondary life by successfully completing his Level 1 Cook’s training.  Those skills came in handy during the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics where he and his classmates operated a food stand at the International Pin-Trading Centre serving buffalo burgers, blueberry bannock and other Aboriginal treats.  Today, Gary works at the ITA and is responsible for ensuring the provincial Aboriginal Apprenticeship Strategy is developed in collaboration with the Aboriginal community and makes trades training more accessible to Aboriginal people all over BC.

The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics also promises aspiring Aboriginal chefs a chance to show off their culinary talents in the Four Host First Nations (FHFN) Aboriginal Pavilion Restaurant.  The restaurant will be operated in conjunction with Vancouver Community College (VCC), who have partnered with the FHFN to offer Aboriginal cuisine prepared by Aboriginal people who have trained in the VCC Aboriginal Culinary Chef program.

Cooking does not require starting at the age of five with long hours at a rink or ski hill.  Instead, to become a Red Seal Cook or a journeyperson, registration in a four year apprenticeship program, and at least 5,400 work-based training hours under the supervision of a certified cook (sponsored by either that employer or Aboriginal organization) is all that is needed.  The training can start at any age.

Today BC high school students are getting a head start in apprenticeship programs through the ITA youth programs.  The Secondary School Apprenticeship (SSA) and ACE-IT programs let youth earn credits while in school getting a head start on their apprenticeship with the SSA program letting youth earn up to 480 hours of work experience.  In 2008/09, 37 BC School Districts, delivered the SSA and ACE-IT programs to nearly 5,000 high school students.  One of those schools was Chalo School, a school situated on Fort Nelson First Nation.

The cook trade allows you to choose the level you want to reach with Level 3 being the highest and offering Red Seal Cook designation which will enable you to work anywhere in Canada.  Many cooks go on to become professional chefs, like Andrew.

In Haida Gwaii, the Old Massett Village Council (OMVC) has started Year 2 of Culinary Arts / Cook training for 11 of its Aboriginal citizens.  The program is funded by the ITA through the Canada-BC Labour Market Agreement (LMA).  Others in Old Massett interested in cook training can speak with Patricia Moore at 250-626-3337 about enrolment.

The LMA funding program allows organizations like the OMVC and the Kla-how-eya Surrey Aboriginal Cultural Society (SACS) to offer financial support and benefits to enable underemployed people to participate in training programs, particularly when they are unable to qualify for other support or face financial barriers that deter them from entering training.

Another LMA-funded program, the Kla-how-eya SACS started September 21, 2009.  The 16-week pre-apprentice Kla-how-eya Culinary Arts Program has Andrew George as Instructor and Program Coordinator.  It helps Aboriginal students explore and develop a comprehensive understanding of basic culinary techniques blended with traditional Aboriginal cooking methods, ingredients and practices.

There are many other cook training programs available province-wide, as well other foods-related trades like baker and meatcutter training programs.  Skilled tradespeople like these and in all occupations are needed in every BC region.

Start Your Course as a Journeyperson Cook – Visit the ITA website to learn how:  www.itabc.ca

——————-

Established in 2004, the Industry Training Authority (ITA) is charged with the responsibility of managing BC’s trades training system to develop the province’s skilled workforce.  As a provincial crown agency, the ITA works collaboratively with Aboriginal communities and agencies, industry, training providers, career counsellors, labour unions, government and others.  The ITA has made a special commitment to finding career opportunities in trades for Aboriginal people, youth, women and immigrants.  An Aboriginal Advisory Committee counsels the ITA on matters related to increasing Aboriginal participation in apprenticeship training.  Funding for the Aboriginal Initiative is provided under the Canada-BC Labour Market Agreement.

Sponsors & Contributors

Lexmark
Acer
Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Delta Hotels – St. Eugene Mission, Cranbrook
Delta Hotels – Pinnacle, Vancouver
Tale’Awtwx Aboriginal Capital Corporation
Ktunaxa/Kinbasket Tribal Council
Kahtou Newspaper
TAKaya Tours

Aboriginal Business Hosts & Exhibitors

• Aboriginal Computers Solutions Ltd. (West Vancouver)– seller of computer hardware, software and solutions, as well as other digital and electronic solutions. (604) 925-8106 www.acsl.ca
• Cree Industries / Heatlog Industries Ltd. (Chilliwack) – manufacturer of pressed wood residue logs and processing equipment.  (604) 533-4950 www.heatloginc.com
• Robert J. Guerin (Vancouver) – independent marketer. (604) 267-7011, www.gnosis-is.com
• Eagle Bay Financial Services (North Vancouver) – group benefit specialist for Canada’s First People – group insurance, group pension plans, critical illness, individual and disability insurance, RRSP’s, Trust Funds, individual retirement plans. (604) 961-9440 or 1-866-425-6527 www.eaglefinancial.ca
• Kahtou Newspaper (Sechelt) – a monthly newspaper for Aboriginal people in BC to learn about the issues and events affecting them and a place for business and government to reach Aboriginal BC through advertising. (604) 885-7391 www.kahtou.ca
• O’Neil Marketing & Consulting / Numa Communications Ltd. (West Vancouver) – business and tourism planning, marketing strategies, media training and relations, writing services, event planning, facilitation, corporate gifts, graphic design & printing services.  (604) 913-1905 www.designingnations.com
• St. Eugene Mission Resort (Cranbrook) – the newest edition to Delta Hotels, the resort opens in December offering Delta class guest rooms to compliment the St. Eugene Mission 18-hole golf course and Casino of the Rockies.  Meeting facilities available.  Also on-site is the Helping Hands Women’s Cooperative Gift shop. (250) 489-2372 www.golfsteugene.com or www.deltahotels.com
• Sto:lo Office Outfitters Inc. (Chilliwack) – is an Aboriginal wholesaler of commercial office furniture, stationery and equipment servicing First Nations in Western Canada.  We have a full service office design team to maximize workplace efficiency. 877-333-2302 or (604) 858-5588, Fax 877-333-2301 www.stolooffice.com
• Tale’Awtwx Aboriginal Capital Corporation (Chilliwack) – financial lender to Aboriginal businesses and providing business planning and support services. (604) 824-2088 www.tacc.ca
• Visions First Nations Planning Group (North Vancouver) – consulting services on comprehensive community planning and consultation, policy development, treaty negotiations, strategic planning, team building workshops, business development, organizational evaluation and design, needs assessments and training plan design, research and proposal writing. (604) 924-0321 www.visions.bc.ca

*All businesses are Aboriginal owned.

Getting Connected…

Public Works & Government Services – Federal Government Registration

In order to do business with the federal government, you need to register on SRI for opportunities for goods and services under $25,000.  The ones over $25,000 are advertised on the electronic tendering system MERX www.merx.bmo.com

There is a registration fee for MERX, however, you can do a free search for opportunities.

To register as a supplier as a supplier, you need to go on the Contracts Canada site:  www.contractscanada.gc.ca

Questions?  Contact: Shamim Jivani, Client Supplier Relations, PWGSC Pacific – Tel. (604) 666-1902, shamim.jivani@pwgsc.gc.ca

BC Hydro – Aboriginal Directory & Business Program

A couple of items that BC Hydro offers that you may be interested in are our Aboriginal Business Database and our Aboriginal Business Partnership program.   The BC Hydro Aboriginal Partnership Program was just announced on Nov 6th and is receiving applications for grants until January 31st, 2003.

Contact BC Hydro directly for more information http://www.bchydro.bc.ca/ard/

For spokespeople – learn how to make that media interview work for you and get your message across.  We also teach how to develop skills for radio, television, and print media.

For groups - gain a better understanding of how the media works, who does what, tips to responding to the media, getting the media on your side, and what to do when they come knocking on your door.

Artisan and Craftspeople Workshop Series

Workshops designed to guide artists and craftspeople to learn how to develop and price products that sell, understand the markets and how to reach them, and develop products and product lines.  Workshops are delivered in learning components.  We’ve delivered these workshops in remote communities, as well as throughout the Yukon.

First Nations in BC Cross-Cultural Workshop:  their Historical Relationship and Cultures

This is a one-day workshop that provides the historical context of the relationships between First Nations in BC, BC and the federal government.  You’ll learn who the First Nations are and their population along with trends, understand major cultural differences between nations, and tips on how to build relationships with each community.

Marketing Workshops

We’ve designed workshops for tourism, small business, artists and craftspeople.  We can tailor any workshop specifically for your group and your target audience.

Home Based Business Workshops

What are the essential tools of a home-based business? Should you be one? And, how do you move from home-based to office? Presentations and workshops can be designed for groups and audiences.

E-Business Workshop

Do you need a website?  How can the worldwide web and Internet help your business?  Learn how in a one-day workshop teaching the ins and outs of the internet – how to select and internet service provider, the benefits and disadvantages of a website… as well as useful tips.  One day session includes workbook.  Recommended Group size – 6 to 20.

Business Planning

Should you hire someone to do your business plan?  Or should you do it yourself?  Learn of the components of a business plan, sources of information for planning your business, tips on operating a business (home-based and office), and funding programs.  This workshop includes handouts and the length of the session is tailored based on your community needs.

Proposal Writing

Learn how to write a proposal for funding, what funders look for in a proposal, and how and when to present your proposal.  This session is designed for large groups.

Education

• Diploma in Hotel Management (1st class) Scottish Hotel School, Glasgow, Scotland (now the University of Strathclyde)
• Wine making – Eschenauer, Bordeaux, France
• Hotel accounting – Cornell University, Ithica, New York, USA

Career Summary

A complete client and project list is available on request.

For more information on Bennett Brown & Associates, visit them online at www.hospitality-consult.com

B.C. First Nations Community Economic Development Regional Forums 2007/2008

BACKGROUND DISCUSSION PAPERS for sessions:

• BCFNCED January 2007 – Event Report
• BC First Nations Economic Development Framework Strategy

Other links: www.fns.bc.ca

Sponsors/Hosts

January 2007 Forum Event Supporters and Current Sponsors:

• Aboriginal Tourism Association of B.C.
• Enbridge
• Encana
• Hazco Environmental
• VanCity
• Dorothy Grant – fashion designs

Westcoast Energy (has changed name to Duke Energy) Internal Communiqué - we wrote, edit and prepare the layout for an internal monthly newsletter. We also designed the banner which carried on theming from the "Sharing a Vision" strategy.

Aboriginal Tourism Canada Semi-Annual Newsletter. We did the initial design and layout, as well as the layout, editing, and printing of each subsequent newsletter.

Westcoast Energy Inc. Sharing A Vision brochure - When Westcoast Energy launched their Aboriginal Business Employment and Development Strategy, we worked with them on designing the creative concept to launch the strategy. Services included concept, design, layout, copy advisory/editing services, and printing.

Native Courtworkers & Counselling Association of BC A Safer Place 2nd Edition brochure and poster - With this project we prepared the fundraising proposal and assisted with securing funds, conducted research to update the content, additions to text, printing and new poster design and printing.

Aboriginal Tourism Canada - Checklist for Success This guide is the second in the ATC's 'how-to' Checklist for Success series. A 'how-to' guide on creating an "Aboriginal Cultural Tourism" product, this project was a next step from Numa's sister company O'Neil Marketing & Consulting. At this stage, we did all the design and layout and wrote the entire content providing many of the photos.

Quu'as West Coast Trail Society - advertisement After developing the Quu'as marketing strategy, we worked with Quu'as on developing a brochure for tourists, poster design, and advertisement design and placement. The base design concept was also applied to a 1-color organization brochure and PowerPoint presentation.

Institute of Indigenous Government Brochure and poster - This was a new concept design, text, and printing, which also included a poster with tear off sheets. The concept is 2-color with messaging to remind youth that education enables you with the "freedom to choose".