The First Nations of Québec - The Attikameks - Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

The Atikamekw are part of the Algonquian linguistic family. They account for more than 5,400 in Quebec, most of them living on-reserve. Their territory is located between that of the Montagnais, the Algonquin and the Cree, which is in the Lanaudière regions, Mauricie, and Central Quebec. Their geographic location favoured trading with these three Nations during the XIIIXth century. They completed their diet with wild meat, fishing and corn growing. There is actually three Atikamekw communities in Quebec: Obedjiwan, Wemotaci and Manawan.

OPTICIWAN SAWMILL
Partnership Pays Off for Community of Obedjiwan
by Annabelle Dionne

Trust. That’s the key to a successful partnership. Just ask Simon Awashish and Louis-Marie Bouchard, who worked together to help create a sawmill in the Atikamekw community of Obedjiwan, 350 km northwest of La Tuque.

Simon Awashish was Chief four years ago when the band council decided to seek out a business partner for the sawmill they wanted to build in their isolated community on the shores of the Gouin Reservoir. “There was no full-time employment in the community then,” explains Awashish. “Sixty percent of the 1,600 residents were on social assistance. There were seasonal jobs with some of the forestry companies — clearing brush, planting trees — but nothing permanent, nothing that would sustain our community. We saw the forestry companies cutting trees and hauling the logs down south. Some of us thought that it was time to keep the work — and the profit — here in Obedjiwan.”

Wood chips are loaded for transport to a pulp and paper mill in St. Félicien, near Lac St. Jean.

Louis-Marie Bouchard agreed with Awashish. Bouchard, Senior Vice President of Donohue Inc., as the company was then known, was quite clear about his company’s intentions. “We’d been in Obedjiwan since 1993, hiring people to work with us during the clearing and planting season,” he says. “We wanted to build on that relationship.”

Building on the relationship was made easier by the fact that they’d already established an excellent reputation with the Atikamekw. “When they first came to the region,” explains Awashish, “representatives from Donohue Inc. (which has since been acquired by Abitibi-Consolidated) met with the band council to discuss what impact their logging plans might have on local trap lines and hunting grounds. They spoke with us before following through with plans to finish building the road that connected our community with St. Félicien. They were the first forestry company to ever ask for our input.”

That initial respect weighed heavily in Abitibi-Consolidated’s favour when they made their pitch to become partners in the sawmill. The Atikamekw chose the company and the negotiations began – without lawyers.

That was another important factor in their success, stresses Louis-Marie Bouchard. “No lawyers. No consultants. Just the band council and us, hammering out a deal.”

And once again, company representatives recognized that respect for First Nations culture was essential. “There are certain times of the year when it would be pointless to keep the sawmill open because no one is going to be there during either goose, beaver and moose hunting seasons, or the blueberry harvesting season,” explains Bouchard. “So, we proposed a 45-week schedule that took the hunting and harvesting seasons into account.”

Abitibi-Consolidated had other strengths, too. “They’d built and managed sawmills before,” says Awashish. “They had solid markets in Canada and the U.S. We believed they could go the distance. This wasn’t a company that was reaching beyond what it could do.”

Each partner had its own responsibilities. The Atikamekw community was responsible for supplying the timber, providing the workforce and training. Abitibi-Consolidated concentrated on getting the sawmill built, managing it, and selling the lumber.

Once they worked out a deal, the partners went looking for money. Close to one-third of the $8.25 million came from the Canadian government, through programs and initiatives at the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Industry Canada, Canada Economic Development and Human Resources Development Canada. Some were loans; some were grants. The provincial government worked with the team to establish purchase commitment grants and forest management agreements that allowed an annual cut of 120,000m3 of wood.

It’s been four years since the sawmill opened, and general manager Manon Pelletier points with pride to the business’s accomplishments: annual sales of $8 million; a Forestry Services section, wholly owned by the band council; with contracts for logging, reforestation, clearing and forest management work, worth $7.5 million. And most important, jobs: full-time jobs for 65 people, 55 of whom are Aboriginal. The company’s annual payroll is $2.8 million; the Forestry Services section pays out more than $800,000 to 60 seasonal workers, all of whom are Aboriginal. Other companies have been created to support the sawmill, providing machinery and vehicles, as well as transportation, loading and shipping services.

It’s no surprise that the First Peoples Business Association has already given the Opitciwan Sawmill two awards at its Mishtapew Awards of Excellence Gala: the Business Creation Award (1998) and the Native Business of the Year Award (2001), which is sponsored by Canada Economic Development.

“We wanted this sawmill to be a success,” stresses Abitibi-Consolidated Senior Vice President Louis-Marie Bouchard. “And we’re proud of the fact that no new money has had to go into the company. No grants, no other loans. We’re making money and we’re putting it right back into the company.”

Pride is another word that Simon Awashish uses often when talking about the sawmill. “There is such a strong feeling of pride. We’ve built more than 80 houses in our community in the past four years, using lumber from our own sawmill,” he says. “We had the money to build a sports centre last fall. This sawmill is more than just a sawmill. It’s radically changed our lives.”

It is, above all, a sawmill built on respect and on mutual trust, “...and no lawyers,” Louis-Marie Bouchard stresses once more. “No lawyers.”

WEMOGAZ, DIVERSIFIED SERVICE STATION A HIT FOR YOUNG ATTIKAMEK ENTREPRENEUR
By Annabelle Dionne

First photograph of the Wemogaz service station

A highly diversified gas station, that even supplies heating oil, has fulfilled the dream of a young Attikamek entrepreneur.

Christian Boivin first came up with the idea for the Wemogaz service station nearly four years ago. His dream gradually took shape after he joined forces with partner, André Ambroise. Then in February 2000, Wemogaz, a Sonerco associate, opened its doors to become the second private enterprise in the Attikamek community of Wemontaci, Quebec.

The service station, which includes a convenience store, offers a range of products and services. Wemogaz sells hunting and fishing gear, rents video cassettes, has its own mini-bakery and sells souvenirs. And by also supplying heating oil, the business has ensured the strong foundation it needs for long-term survival. "We supply more than 125 homes in the community with heaing oil, and we also sell to many of the outfitters and forest companies. So far, we are well ahead of our profit forecasts," Ambroise says.

Second photograph of the Wemogaz service station

Before Wemogaz, community members had to drive to La Tuque, nearly two hours away, to buy gas. "Gas was much less expensive there," says Boivin. "When we opened our station, we wanted to be competitive so that people would buy our products." Today, nobody would dream of going to La Tuque for gas.

The two partners believe they owe their success to their tenacity. "When you want something, you have to persevere until you get what you want," Ambroise stresses. After submitting several grant applications, the duo dedicated themselves to finding the funding they needed. In the end, they obtained more than $460,000 in loans and grants.

The company now has five full-time and three part-time employees. The two owners are on the premises by 6:30 a.m. every day and they are there until the station closes at 11:00 p.m. Boivin and Ambroise agree they have to make some sacrifices, and are ready to do whatever it takes to succeed.

The young partners' commitment helped them win an award for "Best New Venture" last June from the Native Commercial Credit Corporation (known by its French acronym, SOCCA). "Our next goal is to win the "Enterprise of the Year" award," confides Ambroise.