Officials with the Stoney Nakoda First Nation are calling upon the province and other municipalities in the Bow Valley to include them in economic development conversations that occur in the future.
Two chiefs, a councillor and two administrators from the Wesley, Chiniki and Bearspaw tribes – which comprise the Stoney Nakoda First Nation – attended an economic roundtable in March with provincial minister Deron Bilous and Banff-Cochrane MLA Cam Westhead.
Speaking to the mayors of Canmore and Banff and the reeve of the MD of Bighorn, Bearspaw Chief Darcy Dixon said to this day the Bow Valley is, in the minds of the Nakoda people, still their traditional territory.
“These are our lands and our traditional lands,” the chief said. “I think over the years I have felt I have never really participated too much with the province or with any of the municipalities coming forward with any of their projects.
“I think it is never too late to do so and it is important for that to happen.”
Chiniki Councillor Jordie Mark told those gathered, which included politicians and local leaders involved in economic development like the newly minted Chamber of Commerce, that what is needed is to work together.
“This is a good start and a nation to nation consultation,” Mark said, adding education for residents and tourists about the traditional territory is needed.
“We need to educate our neighbours, our tourists … this is our traditional area, from Jasper to Moose Mountain. All these peaks have names, traditional names.
“You are on Stoney territory. This peak has a name, this river has a traditional name.”
He said the Chiniki band has plans for its restaurant and service station on the Trans-Canada Highway, which transects the Morley reserve. Mark said plans are to turn it into an interpretive and cultural centre – to incorporate the traditional culture and stories as well as offer services like food to visitors.
While a lot of talk regarding Banff, and to a lesser extent Canmore, centred around tourism, Bilous noted tourism is also a significant economic growth area for indigenous residents of the Bow Valley.
Hopeton Louden, chief administrative officer of the Wesley First Nation, said people are travelling from around the world to visit indigenous cultures in Canada, but they can’t even seem to get on the map.
“We don’t seem to be able to see that asset right in front of us – the people,” Louden said.
Chief Dixon noted the First Nation is a major landowner in the Bow corridor, with lands where the town of Seebe used to be (now referred to as the Horseshoe Lands and under consideration for development with an approved area structure plan in the MD of Bighorn) lands near Cochrane and lands with development plans adjacent to the Stoney Nakoda Casino.
“We are open for business,” he said. “But that discussion has to take place at some point in time. We want to really truly collaborate.
“We want to work with the municipalities, we want to work with the government, but you have to come to the table and you have to open the door for us to have these discussions.”
Bilous told members of the three administrations who attended that he hoped the conversations happening around the table that day would help serve as opening a window for regional collaboration, something he strongly supports.
“I would frame today’s conversation as part of those discussions, and so again, part of why I am interested to be around this table is to hear potential ideas or ways we can start moving forward,” said the minister.
But when municipalities like Canmore and Banff invest money and time into economic development studies, like the one completed in 2016 by Canmore and Banff in cooperation with Jasper on tourism-based communities, Dixon said it would be a good idea to also include the First Nations. Not only does the entire area represent traditional territory for the Bearspaw, Wesley and Chiniki people, it also represents present and future economic potential for them.
“You are well aware that we are located up the road from the Town of Canmore and I don’t think we were ever part of a fancy study,” said the chief. “This was a study on our traditional lands and on how tourism affects those lands.
“One of these days it would be nice to include the nation.”
Bighorn Reeve Dene Cooper said the Stoney Nakoda First Nation is an important neighbour and economic partner in the region.
“There is no success in Bighorn if it is not shared with our First Nation neighbours,” Cooper said. “We cannot move separately forward and we have to move in a combined way with the synergies that can be provided by all sides to achieve what is necessary for children that are born today.
“It is not going to be easy, but in my relationship with First Nations I have not known them to back off from a challenge.”
Chief Ernest Wesley said when it comes to economic development, it is crucial in the Bow Valley to not hurt the land. He said that in pursuing economic goals, the land cannot be made sick as part of that process.
“I am here today to remind myself that the land we are sitting on today … is Nakoda territory,” Wesley said. “That is true and we must not forget that in order to work together for the benefit of the Bow Valley corridor.
“How are we going to push these economics and make sure that there is no person left out in our Bow Valley corridor and we share the riches and don’t hurt mother earth all because of economic development?”
Wesley CAO Louden said a regional approach to marketing and collaboration within the valley is critically needed.
“One of the things we have pushed for is the formation of an economic accord in the Bow Valley and I am not talking just Banff or Canmore; the whole Bow Valley and the region is the economic engine,” Louden said.
He suggested that an economic accord that involves the province, municipalities and First Nations of the Bow Valley is needed as well as the support to get such an initiative off the ground.
“What we need is a resource,” he said. “Don’t give us money. Send someone here from your department and work with these communities.”
Bilous did suggest that local leaders could apply for funding under the Community and Regional Economic Support (CARES) program to begin to undertake an economic accord regionally.
“I think that is possible and I really like the idea of coming together,” he said.
Louden said Stoney Nakoda residents are an untapped labour force for tourism, but there are a number of challenges to connecting potential staff with employers. Louden said, for example, to drive from Morley to Canmore or Banff five days a week to work for minimum wage is a challenge economically for people.
He noted, as did others who attended the session, that regional transportation and transit are going to have to play big parts in these conversations as well.
“That becomes critical if we are going to participate in that labour force,” he said.
