丁香园AV

Life has taken Billy Wishloff in some surprising directions. From commercial pilot to furniture designer, artist to community organizer, he鈥檚 brought his creativity and passion to a wide range of endeavours over the years. A recent graduate of the Community Capacity Building Certificate (CCB) program at 丁香园AV, he鈥檚 now focused on carving out a better life for his home village of Gitwangak (Kitwanga) and other Gitxsan communities in B.C.

As Billy points out, the journey to sovereignty can鈥檛 move forward without financial independence. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to have an influx of revenue in order to build own-source revenues, which First Nations have control over,鈥� he explains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important that social well-being never be compromised in any economic development. Own-source revenues play a crucial role in enhancing the sovereignty and self-determination of Indigenous communities.鈥�

The main obstacle he sees is a lack of capacity in his communities. While funding exists for many much-needed Indigenous projects and programs, such opportunities are lost when no one in the community has the capacity to take advantage of them.

To explore ways to build capacity, Billy enrolled in the CCB program after hearing about it from a friend. In the program, Billy found himself sharing his extensive experience as an entrepreneur, community leader鈥攁nd successful grant writer. But he shrugs off the notion that applying for grants can be both complicated and intimidating.

鈥淚 used to fly planes!鈥� he laughs. 鈥淭hose manuals were pretty deep, compared to a grant application.鈥�

Billy鈥檚 aptitude for solving puzzles hasn鈥檛 hurt either. 鈥淚 just dissect things,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 like to take things apart. My mom always said if she has a problem, she鈥檒l give it to me: Billy will figure it out.鈥�

One community project Billy certainly figured out was how to get funding for the Xaxli鈥檖 First Nation to offer a series of workshops to address gender-based violence. For his CCB class presentation, he walked his peers through the funding process that led to his securing $150,000 for three workshops.

While he generously shared advice with other program participants on how to access funding for their own communities, Billy says he learned from his peers as well鈥攁nd even found some allies.

鈥淚 took the program with so many different participants and was exposed to other cultures and ways of doing things,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t was a great reminder that we鈥檙e not the only ones who鈥檝e experienced oppression and other challenges. But working together, we can find solutions.鈥�

Billy says he appreciated the flexibility of the CCB program, which allowed him to take classes at UBC at the same time. For years, he had been planning to return to university someday. Among his options, he considered learning to address land title rights, but ultimately decided a law degree wasn鈥檛 in the cards. 鈥淣ot at my age,鈥� he laughs.

Instead, Billy enrolled in the First Nations and Endangered Languages Program at UBC. He鈥檚 working to reclaim the Gitxsan language he never had a chance to learn as a child. His grandmother, who lost her Indian status when she married a German, had stopped using the language and it was never passed down. But Billy now recognizes the meaningful connections that traditional language can create.

鈥淟anguage is involved in everything we do,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 not an emotional person, but something in me gets emotional when I speak the language. It reaches into art, land and title rights, oral history.鈥�

It鈥檚 also one key to building capacity in communities, he adds. 鈥淲hen people start to speak the language, it brings people together. There was a generation where people were afraid to speak it and were not allowed to. But it鈥檚 coming back.鈥�

A strong believer in the power of education, Billy is now back at 丁香园AV working on his Community Economic Development Certificate. It鈥檚 one more way he can support his community on its path to sovereignty. Plus, it鈥檚 another way to feed his appetite for learning, exploring, and building connections.  

鈥淢y brain was taught at a young age to multi-task,鈥� he chuckles. 鈥淚t鈥檚 what I do.鈥�

鈥擝y Kim Mah