The only Aboriginal group with troops on the ground

Squamish-Lil-Wat Cultural Centre is prepared for the crush of the world at one of the greatest of sporting spectacles, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. "It was a busy year," says Josh Anderson, Frontline Operations Coordinator for the First Nation cultural facility in the middle of Whistler that opened in June 2008. "The centre is in the best location possible to sustain high-level interest beyond the 2010 Olympics. It has proven to be something people want, all kinds want the First Nation experience. It's more than a product," Anderson says, "It's a presentation of Squamish and Lil'Wat histories and Coast Salish meeting Interior Salish ways of life."
     

The Whistler area has history between two nations and the centre makes this apparent in the modern context. "We have about 20 ambassadors and seven support staff working 9:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. seven days a week. During the day the centre is open to the public for tours and exhibit viewings; in the evening the centre hosts evening galas and private functions for a maximum of 700 people at a reception and 130 to a sit-down dinner." The centre has a commercial kitchen, cafe, and gift shop.
     

Anderson says, "The gift shop contains an extensive selection of Coast Salish and Interior Salish artists and others from the Lower Mainland," and artists from the USA's Pacific North West. "Visitors are greeted by an ambassador and treated to a cultural performance followed by a 15 minute film that shows both Nations in their traditional territories and communities." The tour reveals modern and traditional art and history and a discourse about mysticisms inhabiting the valleys of Coast Mountain corridors and lakes. 
     

"The Great Hall contains canoes, and weaving displays, hunting and fishing and traditional gathering practices on display. The 'What We Treasure Gallery' contains archival and interactive displays to teach the languages." The original Chief Joe Capilano Blanket is on display, his original negotiating garment made of mountain goat wool, which Chief Joe Capilano wore to England in 1906 when he met with King Edward VII.
     

"Modern Art is displayed in a contemporary art gallery upstairs," says Anderson, "and the outdoor exhibits feature a Long House, and a historical representation of an Istken," a re-created dwelling for Interior Salish people. The site contains a Salish workshop where guests are invited to work at making crafts like bracelets, medicine bags, and 'paddle' necklaces. The centre provides a nature walk for 100 metres with signage that explains the flora and fauna of the territory.
     

"The two nations spoke different languages and the displays and events in the Great Hall and the surroundings showcase the differences. Squamish used wool in garments, whereas Lil'Wat used cedar." Canoes differed since Squamish made ocean-going vessels whereas Lil'Wat traveled the rivers and lakes. "Despite these obvious differences they were close through trade and shared the territory in Whistler in harmony. They have a common history about a shared village called Sto7ez village that was destroyed by a landslide."
     

There is a lot of talent and energy around Whistler and the centre gives Whistler a complementary First Nations presence. The cafe's menu has been indigenously inspired, says Anderson. "The foods are spiced with our own herbs and in-house smoked salmon and pemmican is available. Visitors want a Canadian Aboriginal experience, which gives them reason to further explore Canadian First Nation culture. We are taking it deep and we are noticing the summer crowds are very good for us." Performance groups come from both nations and event planners deliver a balanced program in all seasons. The employment strategy for the centre involves Capilano University and the Aboriginal Youth Ambassador training program.  
     

First Nation security company T'musta7 Aboriginal Protection Services (owned by Lyle Leo of Mt. Currie First Nation) will be providing security services to the Resort Municipality of Whistler and other businesses, including Crown Corporations, during 2010 Winter Games. Lyle is partnered with United Protection Services Inc. Aboriginal division United First Nations Corp. headed by VP Earl John. Leo’s focus is on the Sea-to-Sky area, “We are looking at 100 pairs of boots on the ground within the next two or three months,” he says.
     

T'musta7 is a 100% Aboriginal security services contractor operating jointly with United Protection Services of Edmonton, Alberta with business development mentoring of Earl John, VP  and BC Surrey office support and guidance of Ken Robertson, Business Development Manager and Lizette Peters, Human Resource Manager who also delivers licensed security training program which is governed in BC by the Justice Institute (BCJI). BCJI administers a wide variety of public safety programs throughout the province and has an education partnership with Wilp Wilxo’oskwhl Nisga’a Institute (WWNI) in New Aiyansh, Nisga’a Nation.
     

Leo develops business aspects from his office at the New Earth Business Solutions Centre in Mt. Currie. He developed clear operational objectives out of a $75,000 INAC grant to build a multi-year business plan for an Aboriginal security service. “We are closer than ever to operational status since clarifying and renewing business relations. We had to after VANOC rejected our bid for services directly related to the 2010 Olympics,” he explains.
     

Leo remains firm in his resolve. “We were the only Aboriginal group with troops on the ground,” he says, “and to be honest, it was quite disappointing to be rejected by VANOC.” T’Musta7 reassessed in order to create a sustainable long-term opportunity as a sub-contractor. They now have personnel trained and picking up assignments across Canada. “We are particularly interested in pursuing the market in First Nation, Métis, and Inuit operations,” he points out. “We are going to be a national service.”
     

Leo's company was going on two years of experience. He says, “We’re not entering the field to be competitors but to meet the demand for trained Aboriginal security officers.” He says that Aboriginal security services are in high demand at a minimum of 22 airports in Canada and bilingual services are required in many of these contract opportunities. “We are working toward training and licensing 2,000 Aboriginal security guards,” says Leo, “and while we are excited about Olympic-related opportunities—even after VANOC looked right past us—we will be happy to work in the Resort Municipality of Whistler and beyond.”
     

The T’Musta7 recruited security men and women to work at the music festival in Whistler and a 4X4 rally at Pemberton. Leo has actively recruited First Nation personnel and has since been joined by Chief Don Harris of Douglas First Nation, who is, Leo says, “making a lot of headway for Aboriginal community economic development since partnering run of river projects with Cloudworks Energy. They want to take part with organizing opportunities for First Nations with the 2010 Winter Games."
     

Chief Harris delivers business that issues from a Douglas First Nation energy program. Leo says, "Chief Harris is tuned in with the changes in the aboriginal community with his participation in the election of National Chief Shawn Atleo and the opening of the Osoyoos Business Centre.” (Chief Harris was speaking at the IPPBC Conference Nov. 3-4, 2009 in Vancouver.)
     

Leo applied for security services contracts with the BC Hydro Aboriginal Procurement process and in partnership with the Douglas First Nation has plans for licensed security courses to start between 12 to 20 recruits.” Chief Harris says about T’Musta7, “We are recruiting in the Lower Mainland where Douglas First Nation has a lot of members. I am working on the political agreements with INAC to get people trained for employment. Lyle has contracts and we have a 40-hour training program to start between 12 and 20 recruits."

     

First Nations were players in Whistler pre-Olympic developments, according to Ken Melamed, Mayor of the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW), who says they have big plans for the area. Early in the development of the 2010 Olympic program for Vancouver, the opportunity arose to bring First Nations closer to the community and deeper into the cultural organization of the 2010 Olympics. First Nations received 300 acres of land in Whistler, allowing a certain amount of flexibility in economic opportunity. Local First Nations are working with the municipality to conform to official community development plans. “We agreed to recognize each others plans for development,” said Melamed.
     

Proposals include a commercial, a residential, and a recreational development. Melamed says recreational development could include a golf course or similar attraction. The recreation development for the Callahan Valley is a big investment and opportunities within the RMOW are “being treated according to the Community Charter, which demands [First Nations] are treated as any other investor.” The mayor welcomes this opportunity to work with First Nations, whether they take on projects themselves or engage other developers in the process.

Melamed points out that the new Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre in town, "is within the municipality on land that was earmarked for community uses. When First Nations approached us it seemed outside our thinking, but it was such a good idea and within our interests, therefore, we donated the land waived property taxes and a significant economic investment was made there for the benefit of the whole community.” Tax breaks gave start-up business a better chance at success. Melamed says, “They’re up, and they’re rolling, and there is no question that this is a major contribution because already the response from local business members and visiting tourists alike has been very positive.”

The mayor notes that 50 % of the construction of Whistler Olympic Village Park was done by First Nation contractors like Creekside Resources, and employees. He says, “Capacity-building and jobs went into the Squamish Nation, which was given new community resources, and that is a very cool thing.” He added, “We are very happy with that, and I must say the quality of work was exceptional.”

Churchill port open July to November on Hudson's Bay

Churchill Visitors Bureau

 

The Port of Churchill is situated on the western shore of Hudson's Bay, in Northern Manitoba. It is open four months of the year from July until November, says Bill Drew, Executive Director of the Churchill Gateway Development Corporation, who noted that the 2009 shipping season is shaping up to be a good one. Making the tonnage grow at the port has always been a challenge, however, the port is constantly working to attract interest from world shipping circles. The distances between continents are shorter at the top of the world but the opportunity to sail these shorter distances between Northern Europe and Russia and Canada is restricted by Arctic ice.

"Churchill Gateway Development Corporation (CGDC) was established in June 2003 for the purpose of marketing the Port of Churchill through diversifying the traffic base and building two-way traffic," says the website. Drew says, "OmniTrax Inc. headquartered in Denver, CO operates the port facilities and the railroad from Churchill to The Pas." Drew is pleased to note that 75 percent of the people who work for the Port of Churchill and Hudson's Bay Railway Company are local and Aboriginal.

There are a wide array of jobs available at the port as well as in the town of Churchill (www.portofchurchill.ca) and on the rail line that transfers cargo along a southeastern span 800 kilometres, from the centre of the western coast of Hudson's Bay to The Pas, Manitoba. From there cargo moves to points in Canada, USA, and Mexico. The port was developed in 1928 after a long mercantile and industrial age history that began in 1686 as a Hudson's Bay Company fort when a semi-permanent post was established a few kilometres from the mouth of the Churchill River.

By 1717 HBC men in York Factory and present day Churchill were actively trading furs sought from Rupert's Land and there was a whaling industry working to serve the British Empire with lamp oil and medicinal unguents. HBC eventually constructed a formidable fort called Prince of Wales Fort to defend their interests against French warships and this stands today as a national historic site in Churchill.  Today vessels come to Churchill from July to November via Hudson Strait passing Iceland and Greenland and Baffin Island to pick up grain as well as bring fertilizer from Russia. One recent operation in cargo saw fertilizer coming from Estonia.

On average, the port exports 500,000 tonnes of grain per year. People who live and work in this distant Arctic home come from the town or other communities in Nunavut and Manitoba's vast north. Drew says, "People really enjoy living here,'" which doesn't surprise Drew because most of the people are locals from Dene, Cree and Inuit heritage, "It's a bit of a melting pot of northern cultures." The mayor of the town Mike Spence is Aboriginal and Mike sits on the Board of Directors of the Port Of Churchill Gateway Corporation.

Drew says the Aboriginal component has been integral to the development of the Port of Churchill, "The port is unionized with members of the grain handlers union, PSAC, and ILWU locals. We have a Canadian Customs office and the employees rotate on a monthly basis when the port is operational."  The sailing season of today, says Drew, may change in years to come with the onset of later seasons and early break-ups of ice on the Hudson's Bay. That change is yet to come, and nor is it a desirable occurrence, he says. The town has another distinction, "the situation with polar bears," is pretty straight forward, "there's a lot of Them."

Aboriginal employees the core at Churchill port

The Port of Churchill is situated on the western shore of Hudson's Bay, in Northern Manitoba. It is open four months of the year from July until November, says Bill Drew, Executive Director of the Churchill Gateway Development Corporation, "It's not going too bad at all." Making the tonnage grow at the port has always been a challenge, however, the port authorities are constantly working to attract interest from world shipping circles. The distance between continents are shorter at the top of the world but the opportunity to sail these shorter distances between Northern Europe and Russia and Canada is restricted by Arctic ice; cost efficiencies remain in shipping cargo this way by meeting a railhead sooner (because it's cheaper to ship cargo by rail).
    

"Churchill Gateway Development Corporation (CGDC) was established in June 2003 for the purpose of marketing the Port of Churchill through diversifying the traffic base and building two-way traffic," says the website. Drew says, "We operate port facilities and have an interest in a public/private railroad from Churchill to The Pas." Drew notes that 75 percent of the people who work for Port of Churchill and Hudson's Bay Railway Company (partly owned by Omnitrax of USA and the port) are local and Aboriginal.
    

These jobs are found at the wide array port facilities in the town of Churchill (www.portofchurchill.ca) and on the rail line that transfers cargo along a southeastern span 800 kilometres, from the centre of the western coast of Hudson's Bay to The Pas, Manitoba. From there cargo moves to points in Canada, USA, and Mexico. The port was developed in 1928 after a long mercantile and industrial age history that began in 1686 as a Hudson's Bay Company fort when a semi-permanent post was established a few kilometres from the mouth of the Churchill River.
     

By 1717 HBC men in York Factory near present-day Churchill were actively trading furs sought from Rupert's Land and there was a whaling industry working to serve the British Empire with lamp oil and medicinal unguents. HBC eventually constructed a formidable fort called Prince of Wales Fort to defend their interests against French warships and this stands today as a national historic site in Churchill.  

Today vessels come to Churchill from July to November via Hudson Strait passing Iceland and Greenland and Baffin Island to bring fertilizer from Russia. One recent operation in cargo sees phosphate fertilizer come from Estonia and Murmansk.
    

The port handles the export of 50,000 tonnes of grain per year. People who live and work in this distant Arctic home come from the town or other communities in Nunavut and Manitoba's vast north. Drew says, "Whenever I ask these people if they like living here, they reply, 'Yes, I want to live here,'" which doesn't surprise Bill because most of the people are locals from Dene, Cree and Inuit heritage, "It's a bit of a melting pot of northern cultures." The mayor of the town Mike Spence is Aboriginal and Mike sits on the Board of Directors of the Port Of Churchill Gateway Corporation.
    

Drew says the Aboriginal component has been integral to the development of the Port of Churchill, "They are tied to the unions as part of the grainhandlers union, PSAC, and ILWU locals. We have a Canadian Customs office and the employees at the international port offices rotate on a monthly basis when the port is operational."  The sailing season of today, says Drew, may change in years to come with the onset of later seasons and early break-ups of ice on the Hudson's Bay. That change is yet to come, and nor is it a desirable occurrence, he says. The town has another distinction, "the situation with polar bears," is pretty straight forward, "there's a lot of them."

Winton Global houses built by following the numbers and shooting the nails

Building much-needed new homes in remote locations is a challenge for many First Nation communities.  So much so that many are now pursuing the idea of using factory-built, precision-fit wood framing components to quickly erect more and better quality homes. 

     

Winton Global Homes, based in Prince George, BC, operates one of the most technologically advanced roof truss and wall-panel manufacturing facilities in Western North America.  Delivering factory-framed housing components to First Nation communities in order to help alleviate the crisis in housing has become a key focus of the company.

     

Marlene Fehr-Power, General Manager of Winton Global Homes in Prince George alludes to shifting preferences she has noticed when it comes to First Nation housing, "Over time, it is becoming more and more popular for forward-thinking First Nation communities to build multi-family dwellings as a part of their community plans."  

     

And the demand for housing is changing, says Marlene.  "First Nations have a growing number of elders in their communities and these folks often require a form of housing known as 'Visitable Housing'."  In simple terms, a Visitable Home is a home with a zero-step front entry and a bathroom on the main floor which incorporates a 3 ft. door.  "Visitable homes enhance inclusion and participation in community life," says Marlene, not to mention the advantages of easier long term care.

     

Winton Global Homes also produces floor systems, pre-built wall panel and engineered trusses for major urban projects as well.  "We have just finished building floors, walls and trusses for the Friendship House in Prince George, B.C., the new Prince George Native Friendship Centre Transition House that stands on the outer fringe of the city's downtown core. 

     

This major new facility provides a warm and safe home for many disabled and displaced people in the northern B.C. city, but the company also delivers home packages far afield as well.  "Our homes are shipped as far as Manitoba, and to the Pacific North West of the US." 

     

Marlene says, "The truth about factory-framed or panelized or packaged homes is that they shine as housing solutions in remote areas."  Many of the 700 Indian Reservations in Canada are remote and housing construction can cause difficulties when the planning isn't perfect.  But now, Winton Global Homes can deliver a new home package directly to site that requires nothing but assembly.  "It's all about controlling your costs.  With easy to assemble pre-built wall panel and engineered trusses all packaged up and delivered with windows, doors, siding and roofing, you can keep a tight reign on 'construction cost over runs' which are so common with other methods of building these days.  For people working within a budget this is the ideal solution."

     

This kind of cost control and efficiency applies to single family dwellings, multi-family projects and two-storey buildings as well.  

"We help communities build the homes they so desperately need, from design through materials selection through to complete assembly instructions and project coordination," she says.  "Our homes are basically assembled by number, and erected to 'lock-up' so finishing can occur on the inside."  

Once the basic outside portion of the home is built the inside work proceeds. The choice and design of a community's factory-framed, panelized homes for remote communities can be done via telephone and with the use of e-mail.  The factory in PG designs, builds and ships floor systems, numbered wall panels and engineered trusses directly to site for assembly.

     

"Follow the numbers and shoot the nails," says Marlene. "The personnel required to build the home only need a qualified carpenter on-site to help guide the process.  And, it goes very smoothly."  Remember, the procedure from lock-up is to install the electrical, plumbing, and heating systems that finish the new home in preparation for move-in day.  "The panel-built home is quickly erected and trades do the rest." 

     

As First Nations Drum reported previously this year, "We love a challenge in the design phase because our goal is to give the customer exactly what they want," says Marlene.  Winton Global Homes has been constructing panel-built housing for the past 30 years, previously doing business as Spruce Capital Homes.  Feel free to view a comprehensive selection of affordable new home designs at their Website by visiting www.wintonglobal.com .