Organizers hope to 'Bridge the Gap' year round

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Calgary Native Awareness Week organizers have their sights set on making the seven-day extravaganza a year-round event to promote aboriginal culture in southern Alberta.

It's a vision they hope will be recognized throughout North America.

Native awareness week co-ordinator Robert Laboucane said his group wants to turn their efforts into a world-class operation similar to the famed Calgary Exhibition by the success of last year's Native and non-Native communities.

We want to be able to offer opportunities for all different ethnic groups in the community to come down and participate and get to know Native people better," he said.

"We want to change the stereotypical thinking and perception people have of Native - and have them come down and see for themselves."

The 1989 Calgary Native Awareness Week was the first event to promote Native culture in the city ever co-sponsored by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and the Calgary Indian Friendship Center.

Laboucane, a full-time staff member with the Native awareness week society, said there has been heightened interest by the private sector and social groups to become more involved in the event. So much interest, he insisted, there's no reason not to boost the level of participation.

The number of sponsors has jumped to 75 from 25 in just one year.

Laboucane says the board of directors wants to hold cultural exhibitions in Calgary throughout the year so the non-Native community will always be exposed to the positive points of Indian heritage.

He said they want to make their operation as popular as the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede which has been attracting tourists from across North America since 1912.

Stampede organizers stage a 10-day event every year geared to promoting Alberta's western culture.

Native awareness week board member Hart Cantelon said the event needs to be a permanent feature to the city because of the large Native population in the area.

"We want to make it bigger and better than ever," he said.

"It's important (the non-Native community) understands Native culture."

Cantelon is the director of Native employment Services of Alberta.

A Native awareness week subcommittee was struck in 1986 by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce to look into strengthening ties between area businesspeople and the potential Native workforce in the city.

In 1989 the committee teamed up with the friendship center which was already staging an awareness week at its own location. They formed the Calgary Native Awareness Week Society which has now blossomed into the annual city-wide extravaganza.

This year's event is being held May 12-19.

It's theme is Youth and education.

For more information call 292-3900.