Rankin Inlet (May 12/04) - A Rankin Inlet councillor and business leader has been asked to speak during the Inuit Circumpolar Conference in Moscow, Russia.

Hamish Tatty will deliver a presentation on the ups and downs of operating an aboriginal business compiled through his personal experiences with the family owned M&T Enterprises Ltd. in Rankin.

Hamish Tatty of Rankin Inlet will be travelling to Moscow, Russia, this coming month to speak on M&T Enterprises Ltd.'s success as an aboriginal business. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo

Tatty will have four hours to make his presentation and, the following day, will be given an additional four hours to answer questions.

"The main idea is for my presentation to be a kind of training session to help give Russian aboriginals a better idea of business approaches that might work for them," says Tatty .

"I'll also cover some that might be better for them to leave alone."

Tatty's sessions will be attended by representatives of the business community, government officials and community economic development trainees.

He says the opportunity came about after a Russian delegation paid a visit to Rankin this past December.

"I was asked to deliver a presentation during their visit, so I did.

"They liked what they heard enough to ask me to travel to Moscow and deliver it to their entire board."

Tatty says he was impressed by the Russian delegates he met in Rankin.

He says, from what he heard, it appears Russian aboriginals are moving in the right direction with projects they're developing.

"They're really working hard to not only create economic opportunities, but to create business projects that have a chance to be viable for a long period of time.

"You have to respect their efforts."

Tatty will be in Moscow from June 8 to 14.

He says the idea of travelling to Russia has been a bit nerve-racking because he doesn't know what to expect.

"It's hard to explain, but I'm excited, nervous and a little scared all rolled into one.

"The Russians were really interested in what you could call the M&T story, how it was when it first started back in 1979 to how it is today.

"They're, more or less, looking at it as a success story which sends the message, 'it can be done.'"