Young leader profile: Bryce Williams Tsawwassen First Nation chief wants to improve his community's cultural awareness
BY SHAWN CONNER, SPECIAL TO THE SUNJUNE 21, 2013 3:11 AM http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Young+leader+profile+Bryce+Williams/8558814/story.html At 23, Chief Bryce Williams is among the youngest chiefs in B.C. with an ambitious agenda of economic and cultural growth. Photograph by: Wayne Leidenfrost, PNG Files, Special To The SunAt 23, Bryce Williams is one of the youngest chiefs in B.C. And, as a carver, he is attuned to the importance of culture to his people. Williams has been chief of the 450-member Tsawwassen First Nation since last September, when he won an election against then-chief Kim Baird. A nine-vote difference and a discrepancy in dates on the notice of election forced a new election in April and Williams was re-elected. Williams has been flexing his political muscle since 2009, when he gained a seat on the executive council. It was the first election following the treaty negotiated by Chief Kim Baird in 2007 and enacted in 2009. "I put my name in ... and I was lucky enough to win by one vote to get a seat," Williams said. Before election to council, Williams was learning to carve in his mother's home territory, Haida Gwaii. "I moved up there to become an artist," he said. "It really lifted my spirits up and made me more aware of the values that come out of embracing your culture. I thought I could incorporate that into my platform. A lot of people can take that same path, possibly. " He plans to introduce drawing, painting and weaving workshops into the community. The hope is that the band's youth "will learn the protocols, and a lot of our culture and teachings," Williams said. He also wants to build a carving shed on the land and start a traditional song-and-dance program. Economic development on industrial and commercial lands negotiated in the treaty will help pay for the cultural additions. "We're in the process of getting some deals underway," Williams said. As part of the 2009 treaty agreement - the first urban treaty in B.C. - the band has 1,800 acres, about 600 of which is within agricultural land reserve. Projects in development include a 44-lot single-family subdivision, which is the first phase of a new residential area; a huge combination enclosed-and-open-air mall with almost two million square feet of retail space to serve the surrounding area; and the development of three parcels of industrial land to take advantage of proximity to nearby rail and port hubs. Chris Hartman, CEO of the TFN (Tsawwassen First Nation) Economic Development Corporation, credits both Baird and Williams with opening up the land to developers. "They have been instrumental in setting the tone for the investment community in coming to Tsawwassen, in recognizing it's a global economy out there, and in making it comfortable for big players to place their money here," Hartman said. By the end of his three-year term, Williams hopes he will have seen these projects to their fruition "to see the economy boosted here in Tsawwas-sen, to help us be a sustainable nation. And I'd definitely like to see a lot more of our people involved in government, and more employed by the nation. There's a whole lot of different things I'd like to see." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Native News North List info{all lists}: http://nativenewsonline.org/natnews.htm Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NatNews-north/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NatNews-north/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: natnews-north-dig...@yahoogroups.com natnews-north-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: natnews-north-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
