Skip to content

Banff Centre welcomes new Indigenous leadership director

“It’s important to acknowledge the 50 years of work that’s been done and been guided by Indigenous elders, knowledge keepers and previous Indigenous leadership directors.”
SimonRoss
Simon Ross was named the director of indigenous leadership for the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. PHOTO COURTESY OF BANFF CENTRE FOR ARTS AND CREATIVITY

BANFF – Simon Ross has held many leadership roles in his professional career.

From an educator to a career in outdoor recreation and working as a health program advisor to aid healthcare in Indigenous communities, he has picked up an abundance of leadership skills.

Now named the director of Indigenous leadership for Banff Centre, Ross is anxious to get started in the role, which is now in its 50th year.

“That's what drew me to that position because it is that opportunity to strengthen or to help not only individuals, but communities strengthen their leadership and their relationships, whether it's with the government, whether it's with the industry, for success,” he said.

Ross said he has been working with Indigenous populations since he was 19 years old, primarily focusing on leadership roles leading to a lengthy list of experience spanning more than three decades.

He began a career in outdoor recreation, which he said gave him the initial background in developing leadership qualities.

“That really gave me the foundation of understanding group work, dynamics, communication, working with youth, and challenging them to build their self-confidence and self-esteem and connecting with the environment,” Ross said. “It really looks at how we can be successful as a unit in the programming that we did.

“You can’t make a great living, but you can live an incredible lifestyle.”

Ross worked with the Ktunaxa First Nation on its social governance initiative and has provided guidance and support on research and evaluation of the Indian Act and British Columbian legislation.

He was previously a senior health program advisor with Alberta Health Services to help healthcare providers better understand First Nation communities. Ross has also worked as a liaison between Indigenous workers and employers in addition to roles in education, career development, the not-for-profit sector, adventure tourism and environmental land-based education.

Ross is a member of the Nlaka’pamux Nation in British Columbia and resides in Treaty 7 territory in Redwood Meadows in the Tsuu T’ina Nation. He has also lived and worked in both Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, which helped strengthen his ability to work with different cultural groups on common goals.

Among the tasks, he will be aiding in the ongoing reconciliation with First Nations and Canadians.

“That's a big word,” Ross said of reconciliation. “Lots of learning can be done through that process, not only for Canada's population but also Indigenous populations. We have a great history of – some would say atrocities, some would say negative impacts – but the truth telling of the experiences of the residential school system, the Indian Act, the number of children in care, the number of Indigenous peoples and incarcerated in the prison system is important.

“How do we understand those truths and then move forward collaboratively with Canada to bring equity and equitable opportunities for nation states.”

The Indigenous leadership programming at the Banff Centre helps give people an opportunity to better understand how to establish strategic direction for their communities and organizations.

The model follows the sacred circle of life that has an inner circle that sets out the principles and the wise practices model with seven elements of success.

Janice Price, the president and CEO of the Banff Centre, said Ross’ skills will be invaluable, particularly as the Indigenous leadership program reaches the half century mark.

“We are pleased to celebrate this milestone as we welcome Simon’s leadership of the Centre’s wide range of Indigenous leadership training programs," said Price in a news release. "Simon brings a wealth of experience to this role, and we look forward to working with him to further develop Indigenous Leadership at Banff Centre.”

Ross said the role will also allow him to further support First Nations and communities to uphold treaty rights, but also support non-treaty communities in sovereignty, self-determination and self-identification as well as looking at Indigenous tourism.

“There's more Indigenous companies or organizations that are providing those not only cultural education opportunities, whether it's rafting or hiking, or mountaineering,” he said. “Those are the sort of activities that our people align with and then they're being strengthened by having the cultural aspects included with that.”

With the program now in its 50th year, Ross said the Banff Centre hopes to have some type of celebration – dependent on public health regulations with the COVID-19 pandemic – that will bring together Indigenous elders, knowledge keepers, community members and people from Treaty 7 lands such as the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Tsuut’ina Nation and the Îyârhe Nakoda (Stoney Nakoda).

“It’s important to acknowledge the 50 years of work that’s been done and been guided by Indigenous elders, knowledge keepers and previous Indigenous leadership directors," he said.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks