Chief Clarence Louie of the Osoyoos Indian Band was named as one of two recipients of the 2011 Aboriginal Business Hall of Fame Award by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. Photo by Osoyoos Times/File - Click on picture for larger image
OSOYOOS TIMES-December 22, 2010
By Paul Everest – Osoyoos Times
Chief Clarence Louie of the Osoyoos Indian Band said he laughed when he heard he had been named as one of two recipients of the 2011 Aboriginal Business Hall of Fame Award.
“I thought you had to be really old, or retired and rich, to be in the hall of fame.”
The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, which hands out the award, announced on Dec. 14 that Louie and Ruth Williams were the recipients of the award.
Williams is the chief executive officer of B.C.’s All Nations Trust Company, an organization that aims to promote Aboriginal self-sufficiency through marketing, financial resources and advisory services.
The award is going to Louie and Williams for their “accomplishments in achieving sustainable economic development in Aboriginal communities,” states a media release from the council.
Louie said the award is a “great acknowledgement” of the band’s successes in areas such as economic development, creating jobs and sustaining the band’s culture.
He added that 2010 was a momentous year for the band in that it opened its business park north of Oliver, approved a major housing development for an area at the head of Osoyoos Lake and launched the first $50 bottle of wine at the Nk’Mip Cellars winery, which is owned by the band.
Louie was first elected as chief of the band in 1985 and was named as a “Transformational Canadian” by the Globe and Mail newspaper earlier this year.
He has been asked to speak about the successes of the band and Aboriginal economic development across Canada as well as in the U.S. and Australia.
The recognition he and Williams has received is important, Louie said, as more First Nations communities get involved with economic development.
“Business is what makes the world go round,” he said. “Business is what pays for everything. Business taxes pay for the hospitals and the police and all the social services and the education.”
Angela Bishop, the council’s director of programming, said Louie was selected for the hall of fame award because he has made a “long-term and sustainable impact” on his community in the areas of job creation and business development.
He is also a role model for young people, she added, and has contributed to the growth and development of Aboriginal economic development.
Louie and Williams were picked from a group of “many great nominees” by four jurors, Bishop said.
This was the first year Louie was nominated.
She also said Louie was picked for this award because he has accomplished “so much as a young man.”
Louie is also the band’s administrator and the chief executive officer of the Osoyoos Indian Band Development Corporation.
He focused on Native American studies, including reserve systems and treaties, at what was formerly called the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College in Regina.
In May, Louie was reappointed as chairperson of the National Aboriginal Economic Development Board, a position he has held since 2007.
Under his leadership, the band created the first Aboriginal winery in North America and the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre and now owns and operates businesses such as a golf course, a construction company and retail stores.
When asked about recent media attention on how many First Nations leaders make more per year than some premiers and the prime minister, Louie said the wealth and salaries of everyone should be made public, not just Aboriginal leaders.
He said he does not make more than B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell, who bumped his salary to $186,000 in the past few years, and added that his money comes from his positions as band administrator and CEO of the band’s development corporation.
His honourariam for serving as chief of the band is less than $1,000 a month, Louie said.
As for what lies ahead for the band, he said he hopes to see the third phase of the Spirit Ridge Vineyard and Resort get underway soon.
This is the seventh year the hall of fame award has been handed out.
It will be presented to Louie and Williams at a gala dinner in Toronto on Feb. 15.
Louie said he plans to attend the event and hopes to bring along a few of the band’s young members to give them a chance to see another part of the country.
Although he hates long plane rides, he saw the trip as a good chance to advertise the band’s businesses and winery.
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