by Deborah Steel
Ha-Shilth-Sa Reporter
Feb. 1, 2007
Hupacasath - There's an
old saying in business - Go big, or go home. And from the talk arounf
the table at the Uu-a-thluk Council of Ha'wiih meeting on Jan. 25 and
26, that saying is particularly true when dealing with the seafood industry.
The meeting was organized at the House of Gathering to put together a work plan with the goal of increasing Nuu-chah-nulth economic access to aquatic resources and to turn Nuu-chah-nulth into big players in the seafood business.
There was a simple theme for the meeting articulated by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council's fisheries manager Don Hall: More Fish, More Jobs, More Money.
He told the gathering that in the 14 years he's been on the scene in the territory, he's witnessed the steady decline of Nuu-chah-nulth access to the sea resources, and the economic benefits that come with that access. Yet Hall is optimistic that there is a turn-around on the horizon, through treaty negotiation and fisheries litigation, and he wants Nuu-chah-nulth-aht to be prepared to reap the rewards of success in those areas.
Simon Lucas told the Ha'wiih there is a ready market for seafood, and recounted a meeting with Korean buyers who wanted to purchase crab, and a lot of it. In fact, they wanted one million crabs, and the Nuu-chah-nulth had to say no "because we were not organized."
A similar story was told by meeting Chair Tommy Happynook, who spoke about the newly formed Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood Development Corporation, which grew out of the Nuu-chah-nulth Shellfish Development Corporation. The seafood business has eight Nuu-chah-nulth tribes as shareholders, has developed a brand (Nootka), and has met with trade partners for distribution and marketing expertise. Corporation representatives have also met with buyers from Brussels who are looking to purchase thousands of tons of product per month.
"We have about six buckets," Happynook laughed.
But what it proves is the market is large and lucrative and the players in the market have to be large and ready to provide.
He invited chiefs to come out to the corporation's annual general meeting scheduled for Feb. 26 at the House of Gathering where they would be discussing business prospects and inviting other Nuu-chah-nulth tribes to hop on board to increase the size of the entity.
Charlie Cootes Sr. said there was also opportunity in the auxiliary areas of the marine environment. He said the community had to build capacity to prepare the young Nuu-chah-nulth-aht for the future. He said there was a real shortage of seafarers and a massive hiring boom coming. There is opportunity for the young, if they are prepared and trained.
He also said it was important to make connections with powerful people in industry, and told of billionaire Jimmy Pattison's speech at a recent Aboriginal economic development conference. Cootes told the Ha'wiih that Pattison was looking to partner with First Nations on good business ideas. Cootes said Pattison shared a secret of his success - competitive edge.
The Nuu-chah-nulth's competitive edge is that they live where they do business and knew intimately their environment.
Stanley Sam agreed that traditional knowledge and experience should not be underestimated.
Cliff Atleo reminded the Ha'wiih that Nuu-chah-nulth had always lived and provided for their families from the sea, and it was the government and their policies that pushed them farther and farther from that endeavor. And the government has admitted their part in the decline in Nuu-chah-nulth access to the resource and should be made to make amends, he said. He advised that chiefs remember the history.
Cootes said that remembering the history was important, but it was also important not to get stuck in the past. It was a time to prepare for the future and take advantage of the opportunities that are ahead.
The
council also looked at how other Aboriginal groups had benefitted from
court decisions that provided them with more access to the fisheries,
from the Boldt decision in Washington State where the Lummi got 50 percent
of the fishery, to the Marshall decision on the East Coast of Canada,
where increased access caused violent confrontations over the lobster
fishery. Representatives from the Lummi Nation are expected to attend
the next Council of Ha'wiih on April 12 and 13.
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