Ojibway heads DIA in Calgary

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CALGARY - After more than four months with no one to steer the ship, the Calgary branch of the Department of Indian Affairs has at last announced a successor to Gordon Williams.

He is Ojibway Indian Bill Dixon who took up his new post as Calgary district manager September 2.

Dixon, from Ontario, has been with the department for four years and has worked with Alberta Regional Director General Dennis Wallace back east.

Before he headed for the Rocky Mountains, Dixon had been district manager for Peterborough and also headed the department's economic development agreement section for the northern affairs department.

Dixon has also worked for the Ontario government in several departments including mental health and child welfare.

Although he says it is still too early to announce any major decisions on policy for the southern region, Dixon says he will be meeting with the chiefs to get feedback on directions they want to take

"I am going to set up a forum of consultation with the chief on a quarterly basis," says Dixon.

Dixon added that Indian self-government will continue to be a priority in the souther region, but that the planning needs a lot more thought.

"What we'll see is a lot more planning in this exercise but self-government is definitely not on the backburner."

Dixon also plans to put a lot of time and energy into economic development in the southern region both to create jobs and to create genuine economic development.

"It's still early, but I plan to check logistics and see what assistance we can give to the bands to help them develop sound economic formulas for successful business," he said.

Dixon is replacing former district manger George Williams, who is also an Ojibway. Williams left the department in April and is now working with the Stoney band west of Calgary.

The Calgary district branch has been under a lot of strain since the closing of the branch in Lethbridge which dealt with the Blood and Peigan bands. No extra staff have been hired in Calgary to help process the blood and Peigan paperwork due to the downsizing of the Department of Indian Affairs.