Urban hunting or

ENLIGHTENED native band leadership, by George.

Leonard George, that is. Son of legendary Chief Dan George. Mender of psycholog- ical wounds inflicted on his 350-member Burrard Band (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) from European influences and from within the band itself.

Seeker of solutions to the rift between native and white residents on the North Shore.

A negotiator of workable native land-use solutions in this testy cra of land claims.

But no finger-pointer. Nope. That is not Chief George. A North Shore native in every sense of the word is Lecnard, An urban realist, but deeply spiritual in a uniquely native way.

‘That's my impression of Chief George. He is an inspir- ing guy to break bread with.

The usual us-versus-them conversational undercurrent is absent.

In its place: a determina- tion to face the reality of lite in the latter half of the 20th cen- tury as a native in a predomi- nantly white urban setting and work with the tools at hand: land, people and urban smarts.

A sawy Burrard blend of

-competition and cooperation.

Over the past decade, George, 51, has embarked on an ambitious Program of land development and entrepre- neurial partnerships aimed at achieving self-sufficiency for the Burrard people.

They include the Takaya golf centre and the $10-mil- lion Ravenwoods town- house/condominium com- plex, which involved the use of bane tradespeople and helped forge alliances between home-

buyers and band members. George, vou see, is more into the development of peo- pie than the development of land. The former resource has a dong-term value that is infi- nitely more rewarding for the

band as a whole than is the lat-

ter.

It is also far more difficult to develop properiv.

In 1995 George addressed a public meeting in West Vancouver with a rundown of how self-sufficieney could be brought to his people through such ventures as broadcasting, banking and gambling.

He told the audience that native people need to rake a greater interest in business and become “hunters of the city in the way that our ancestors were ... hunters of the forest.”

The latest agreement spear- headed by George in establish- ing full native involvement in the 9,300-heetare Indian Arm park underlines that approach

to native band management by

George.

The agreement sets out a deal that will eventually give control of the park's opezation

- to Burrard Band members.

It also establishes a process under which band members will be given preferential treat- ment in bidding for contracts within the park.

Non-Burrard Band mem- bers might rightly be set to howling over such built-in

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racial inequity in a B.C. Parks agreement.

Bur others might concede thar it is a pretty good exam- ple of astute urban hunting.

The Burrard, like most other native bands in B.C., have significant land claims in the area. They range from: the headwaters of Indian River to Point Atkinson and beyond to Burnaby, Port Moody and Belearra.

But natives were not con- sulted in 1995 when the Greater Vancouver Regional District and the provinee

announced intentions to create

a provincial park in Indian Arm. George prompdy rattled the lawsuit sabre. A bleak prospect for all involved. No win-win down that avenue; more win-lose or lose-lose.

After all, the Burrard live and work on the North Shore just like the rest of us. Inter- tribal acrimony is not a prof: itable byproduct of their labors. And win-lose, native versus non-native, is not a very progressive or enlightened approach. Net really the George way,

He's pretty much a home town boy, with roots in both Burrard and North Shore cul- tures. His approaches to solv- ing problems are theretore far more imaginative.

In the past they have employed evervthing from native spirituality to Chinese Feng Shui.

It’s all part of the George approach to lite and his deter- mination to establish systems under which people make choices. Because he realizes that handouts don’t work and when natives are spoon-fed money and services from mis- guided governments their accountability disappears. But when they have to wark to

All servicos

earn what they own, they value it.

It’s a hard sell. on the Burrard’s 262 acre reserve. Not everyone is cager to embrace the George philoso- phy. But he is well into his filth term as Burrard chief and continues to push the band toward scif-reliant enlighten- ment.

Past words of wisdom by George:

“In the old days we by no means had a perfect world. We had all the failings we have today — Iving, stealing, killing and cheating — bur these issues were dealt with directly because we knew if we can be good then we can be bad.

“And by working toward good, you, your family, your community and the environ- ment have a healthier relation- ship.”

And geod health is key to making George's band a pro- ductive part of the North Shore.

“We as people have to get healthy. And then whatever direction we go in asa band, it will have a positive effect on the community as a whole.

“We're alf here now, let’s see how we can ger on with it. We have a responsibility to for- give and forget.

“The more responsibility you take the healthier vou are.”

As to his band’s most recent urban hunting trip:

“... (an example) of how we as human beings have inherited a great number of differences in our relationships in the past can start to develop (positive) relationships into the future. 1 think that is what life is all about.”

Progressive stuff, I'd say. The Burrard Band appears to be in good hands, by George.

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