First Nations Economic Development

General Manager of Eshknam Cultural Management Services (Four First Nations JV).  2015-2021.   

Based on my extensive experience working with First Nations in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, I was invited to take on the role of General Manager of the Cultural Referrals business owned by Cooks Ferry Indian Band, Siska Indian Band, Nooaitch Indian Band and Coldwater Indian Band.  

My mandate was to review the organisation and its performance, and either close, maintain or expand the scale and scope of the organisation – I chose the last approach and turned around the financial and operational performance and obtained six straight clear opinions of the audited annual statements. 

I increased training opportunities and increased hiring for the organisation.  The work saw extensive involvement in ongoing Cultural and Environmental Referral work related to: 

  • Mining – exploration and operational applications and permits 
  • Forestry – harvesting, silviculture and road building 
  • Transmission Lines – Multiple Traditional Use Studies. 
  • Oil and gas lines – Traditional Use Studies. 
  • MOTI and roads – road repair and construction 
  • BC Hydro – transmission lines, pole repair and replacement 
  • Telus – tower placement 

Led multiple Traditional Land Use and Knowledge studies related to mining, transmission lines and oil pipeline projects.  The largest of these projects had a budget approaching $750K. 

I wrote and obtained $500K and then facilitated the Cultural Survival Area Project that involved eight Indigenous Communities from two separate Nations working together to draw up forestry management practices to protect Cultural Survival Areas which represent some of the most sensitive cultural and spiritual aspects of the Indigenous Communities involved.  Cultural Survival Areas involve three types of cultural features: 

  • Living Beings (Sasquatch and Little People) 
  • Things or places (Pit Houses, Sweat Houses, Pictographs, Gravesites 
  • Activities/Spiritual (some examples are Xa?Xa?, Ghosted, Spirted, Heal One Self, Puberty, Birth, Forbidden) 

Key aspects of this land use planning included: 

  • Extensive cultural research and interviews with elders and knowledge keepers 
  • Learning and appreciating the cultural landscape context of all the CSAs 
  • Approaching the management of the CSA areas to facilitate contemporary Traditional Use and other activities – activity in the land is essential to monitor and manage 
  • Facilitating non-impacting or acceptably impacting forestry activities in the area 
  • Realizing that traditional/contemporary use would overlap with Sasquatch and Little People activities and planning accordingly. 
  • Focusing on forest practices that are operational, and able to involve a joint management approach by Indigenous Communities/FLNRO/Industry. 

 

Nicola Valley Tribal Council Forest Renewal BC (FRBC) Forestry Coordinator 1996-1998. 

  • This funding arose from a large FRBC proposal that I assisted the Bands and Weyerhaeuser submit the previous year.  Funding from this proposal also went to support the Innovative Forest Practices Agreement (IFPA) between the forest industry and the Indigenous communities – the intent was to improve the quality of forestry, to increase the harvest levels and to award harvest volume to the Indigenous Communities. 
  • While FRBC Tribal Forestry Coordinator, I wrote and supported a Cdn$1 Million Traditional Use Study for the Nicola Watershed, and this led to the establishment of Tmixw Resources – a Traditional Use Research Joint Venture owned by multiple communities. 
  • We explored new ways of conducting forestry, some of which led to feedback from Indigenous Groups altering layouts in the field due to archaeological and cultural reasons, where the decision to amend layout did not have to involve the Heritage Branch.  This approach sped up ‘work arounds’ and kept sensitive information to a minimum number of people and parties. 
  • I conceived and got approval and $30K Seed funding from FRBC to put on a five-day First Nations Forestry Workshop.  This workshop had over 200 people attending, they received a four-inch binder with all presentation and reference materials upon arrival and an update pack weeks later containing missing material.  A keynote Indigenous Speaker from Siberia was brought over to present.  There were two field trips to look at forestry harvesting innovation and Indigenous silviculture teams at work, as well as a gala and tradeshow where heavy equipment, forestry, fuel, safety and other gear were exhibited.  Over 250 binders of material were produced and distributed around the world. 

Weyerhaeuser Cooperative Working Agreement 1995. 

Retained by Weyerhaeuser Canada and Five Indigenous Bands to implement a Cooperative Working Agreement that they had all signed two years previously, but not been implemented.  Work included: 

  • Worked with Weyerhaeuser and the Bands on forestry planning and strategies for land management. 
  • Writing business plans and obtaining bank financing and Weyerhaeuser sponsorship to establish seven Silviculture Crews (one for each Band working with Weyerhaeuser in the area).  New approaches and techniques for silviculture were explored 
  • Set up training program for the First Nations Silviculture Crew leaders to learn banking, silviculture practices, basic business management, etc. 
  • Involved in monitoring the success of the silviculture and hired a female forestry technician, who was a member of the Gwitchin First Nation, to do full-time monitoring of the silviculture crews. 
  • Worked with Weyerhaeuser and the Bands to put together a multi-year Forest Renewal BC (FRBC) funding proposal that was awarded 
  • Ongoing Collaboration and consultation about forest policy change, economic development, employment and capacity development for First Nations communities. 

 

Islands Community Stability Initiative (ICSI).  Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands). 1995-1996 

The Islands Community Stability Imitative (ICSI) involved the two Haida Nation communities of Old Massett and Skidegate and four non-Indigenous communities of Sandspit, Queen Charlotte City, Port Clements and Masset.  The intent was to come to an agreement among the communities about setting aside land management areas for the Haida, establishing a more sustainable economy and increasing the level of control and decision making on the island for the communities. 

In 1995, based on my research on community forestry and experience working with Indigenous communities, I was invited by the Gowgaia Institute to fly up Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) to carry out six Community Forestry Seminars and a workshop on Community forestry.  Two seminars were carried out on Old Massett and Skidegate Reserves, and the workshop was carried out on the Skidegate Reserve. 

In 1996, I was invited by the Gowgaia Institute to return again and was retained for three months to assist in ICSI, where I supported the negotiations table, undertook policy research and advisory work, and wrote articles that were published about land and resource management and planning and the challenges to achieve socioeconomic sustainability for the archipelago. 

The ISCI declaration was signed off on by the six communities in March of 1996 and I returned to Thompson Nicola Region shortly after that to take on the role of Forest Renewal BC (FRBC) Tribal Forestry Coordinator for the Nicola Valley Tribal Council. 

Central Coast Consulting

Paul Mitchel Banks

Ph.D., MCIP, RPP, EP, CP3