Native Awareness Week: bigger and better

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The heart beat of the drums tell a story southern Albertans are beginning to listen to more closely, says the co-ordinator of Calgary's Native Awareness Week.

Robert Laboucane says the cultural gap is shrinking and this year the Native awareness week society is focusing attention on children.

Cultural appreciation starts at a young age, Laboucane says, so there's no better way to remote equality than to begin at the beginning - with children.

The second annual city-wide event from May 12-19 will have as its theme Youth and Education.

"The development of youth remains a crucial responsibility for all of us," Laboucane says.

the decade-old concept of bringing Native and non-Native communities in Calgary closer together was given a significant boost last year when the city's business sector teamed with Native groups to sponsor the project.

This year, Laboucane says there are more events to take in, more speakers to hear and a lot more involvement by area organizations wanting to establish a rapport between the two distinct societies.

Laboucane says the number of sponsors has gone to 75 from 25 and there is a heightened attention from local media and city officials.

"It's worked out very well," he days.

The president of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce is confident the seven-day event will push Natives and non-Natives even closer together.

Harold Millican notes area business people and Native leaders are becoming more involved because they know the importance of creating ties with the large southern Alberta Native population.

"More of our corporate members are adding to the events and wanting to participate on a broader scale (than before). I think there is a realization this is a meaningful project," he says.

Millican says awareness of the importance of bridging the gap grew during the boom years of the early 1980s when area business people wanted to tap into the large potential Native workforce.

The chamber set up the Native Canadian Opportunities Committee to establish work initiatives for the local Native community.

In 1982 the committee formed a liaison with the Native Outreach Centre and last year it teamed with the Calgary Indian Friendship Centre to develop the city-wide extravaganza.