Native business people gather at Toronto

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TORONTO - Smoke signals from he top of the CN Tower marked the start of the week-long Native Business Summit here June 23 to 27, but organizers are convinced its impact will be felt indefinitely.

The summit, a massive project involving 1,800 delegates, 240 speakers and panelists, 200 Native artists and 137 exhibitors, cost $1.8 million and organizers are convinced in was worth every cent.

They say this largest Native economic gathering ever enhanced the public image

of Native people and their ability to compete at all levels in the business world immeasurable, provided a forum for the exchange of information and the sharing of experiences, and offered a stage for the display of products and services.

The formal opening was presided over by Princess Anne, who described the summit as "a very important new initiative" and said the considerable contribution of the Native people to the development of this country is not to be ignored.

Tony Belcourt, who escorted the princess into the Metro Toronto Convention Centre where all events were held, told the hundreds of guests at the opening that the ceremony was a deliberate contrasting of a Native past that is "rich in culture and history" with smoke from the CN Tower - the world's tallest free-standing tower - as a symbol of high technology and the future.

Other special guests at the opening included Indian Affairs Minister David Crombie, Native Business Summit Foundation Chairman Roy Louis from the Samson Band in Hobbema, Elder Rufus Goodstriker of the Blood Reserve in Alberta and an honor guard of 19 Native war veterans.

Supplementing the business sessions and exhibits were a variety of cultural and entertainment activity dominated by an exhibit of the works of 200 Native artists from across Canada - the largest Native area exhibit in Canadian history, an evening of entertainment headlined by Buffy Sainte-Marie, fashion show - featuring the work of Ontario Native designers.

Princess Anne opened the art show, meeting the artists and touring the exhibition to view their work.

The formal addresses and business sessions featured top politicians and business leaders from across Canada and beyond.

Politicians included federal government ministers Barbra McDougall (France); Andre Bissonnette (Small Business); Bill McKnight (then Labour, now Indian Affairs); and Stewart McInnes (Supply and Services); Senator Leonard Marchand; Premier David Peterson of Ontario; Elijah Harper, the Manitoba Minister Responsible for Native Affairs; Tagah Curley, Northwest Territories Minister of Economic Development and Tourism and Vince Kerris, Ontario Minister of Natural Resources.

Business leaders featured included architect Douglas Cardinal; Les Cosman, president, GenStar Development Company; Billy Diamond, former grand chief of the James Bay Cree, now president of the Cree Regional Authority and Air Creebec; Joe Dion, president Neegan Development Corp. Ltd, and Dion Resources Ltd.;' Allen Jacob President, Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta (AMMSA); Welton J. Littlechild, lawyer; Leonard (Tony) Mandamen, lawyer, and Muriel Stanley-Venne, general manager, Settlement Sooiyaw Corporation.

The main business conference at the summit dealt with housing and real estate, Native business development, resources and economic development and international trade and finance.

As well, there were keynote addresses on the state of the Native economy, the scope of Native business, and the future of Native business, and plenary sessions of Native capital formation, opportunities in international trade, Native advantages in business and trade, and financing new business and expansion.

Often delegates were faced with choosing which session to attend because three

or more sessions were going on simultaneously.

An indiction of the wealth of information available at the summit is that a set of tape recordings of the proceedings runs for 110 1/2 hours, and would require almost

three regularwork weeks of listening. And that doesn't take into account all of the opportunities to visit exhibits, discuss business and other delegates, enjoy the culture

and entertainment events, and simply socialize.

Delegates who do not want to listen to tapes of the sessions will have an opportunity to review the summit in a more leisurely fashion when a printed detailed review is published several months from now.