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10TuesdayOctober2220131BreynatStreetFortSmithNT867872-4567PetroleumLtd.Thesecrettosuccessinasmallbusinessishardworkdedicationandpersistence.WewouldliketosincerelythankElizabethMargaretandTonyfortheiryearsofcommitmentandloyalty.Youareabigpartofouroverallsuccessthankyou.TDCCELEBRATESSMALLBUSINESSWEEKTDCCELEBRATESSMALLBUSINESSWEEKELIZABETHSTOCKSTOCK15YearsMARGARETSAYINESAYINE10YearsTONYTRUDEAUTRUDEAU10YearsByMARIACHURCHTheDeneThaFirstNa-tioninnorthernAlbertare-centlypurchasedtheExecu-tiveHouseSuiteshotelandconferencecentreinHighLeveltheresultofyearsofnegotiationbyDeneThaseconomicoperationsarmEhdaChoCorp.NancyMacIntyreman-agerofthehotelthrough-outtheownershipchangetoldTheJournalshethinksFirstNationownershipwillbepositiveforboththehotelandthecommunity.Ithinkitwillgivethepeoplesomeprideandop-portunitytoteachtheminthehospitalitybusinessthatisntlotterymachinesandVLTsshesaid.MacIntyresaidshehopesthenewownershipwillencouragemorebusinessfromgovernmentemploy-eesandexecutiveswhomayhavedealingswiththeDeneThatousethehotelduringtheirstayinHighLevel.ExecutiveHouseSuiteswasbuiltin2004byalocalHighLevelbusinessman.ForthepastthreeyearstheEhdaChoCorp.hasbeennegotiatingthepurchaseofthehotelandinSeptemberitwasreopenedunderDeneThaownership.MacIntyresaidlittlehaschangedasfarasmanage-mentisconcernedanditappearsthenewownersarelookingtokeepsthingsastheywere.Currentlythehotelsstaffis75percentAboriginalasofarecenthiringunrelatedtothehoteltakeoverbytheDeneTha.ThehotelpurchasecomesontheheelsofseveralrecentinvestmentsbytheEhdaChoCorp.onbehalfoftheDeneThaincludinganewgeneralstoreinChatehandagassta-tioninMeanderRiverbothDeneThacommunities.InHighLevelDeneThacurrentlyownsrentalprop-ertiesaswellastheHighLevelTrailerCourt.ArmslengthcorporationkeyPatCabezasaDeneThamemberandtheCEOoftheNdehLimitedPartnershipanorganizationcreatedasthegeneralpartnerofthetheEdhaChoCorp.saidthecorporationisownedbytheDeneThaFirstNationsbutissolelyarevenuegeneratorpurposefullykeptseparatefromchiefandcouncil.TheDeneThaFirstNationsawtheneedtoevolvefromdependencyintoselfrelianceCabezassaid.In2008afterextensiveconsultationwithotherFirstNationsandout-sideadvisorstheconclusionwasmadetocreateacorpo-rationtooperateonbehalfoftheDeneThagovernment.Ourmandateistogeneratewealthandinordertodosowegetinvolvedwithdifferentcompaniesandwedoworkforthemandthemoneywere-ceiveweinvestitinordertocreatetheeconomicbasefortheDeneThaFirstNationthatinrealityisbecomingsortofasafetynethesaid.CabezasexplainedthatthesecrettotheirsuccesshasbeenacleardivisionbetweenthepoliticsoftheDeneThaleadershipandtheeconomicactivityofthecorporation.Aslongaswekeepthedivisionbetweenthepoliti-calworldandthecorporationworldtheeconomicactivi-tiesthengrowthwillhappenbecausethereisaverystrictcontrolbetweenwhatsgoingonhesaid.Tokeepthatdi-visionrequiresdisciplineheadded.Wehaveseenothernationsthathavehadthatseparationbutthenitwasalteredandim-mediatelyyoucouldseethattheeconomicperformanceofthebusinessactivitiesde-creasesbecauseofthispoliti-calinuencehesaid.ThemodelofanarmslengthcorporationisnotnewbutissomewhatuniqueinCanadawithonlyafewFirstNationssuccessfullyutilizingitsuchastheOsoyoosIndianBandandtheSawridgeFirstNationsinSlaveLakeCabezassaid.Amovetoseparatebusi-nessandpoliticswasalsothefocusofrecentGwichinTribalCouncilmeetingsinInuvik.Cabezassaidhedoesntbe-lieveotherFirstNationsarehesitanttoadoptthemodelbuttheircurrentstructuresofgovernmentdonotallowthemtoseparatetheeconomicac-tivityfromthepoliticalworld.TheDeneThahavearound2400memberslivinginandaroundthecommunitiesofBusheRiverMeanderRiverandChatehinnorthwesternAlberta.DeneThaFirstNationpurchaseshotelinHighLevelLeaderssayarmslengthcorporationamodelforsuccessSmallBusinessWeekAboriginalVenturesPhotoPatCabezasAfteryearsofnegotiationstheExecutiveHouseSuiteshotelandconferencecentreinHighLevelhasreopenedunderDeneThaFirstNationownership.