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Pope leads Fort Res man back to roots Stephen Cuthbert returns to North to work for Deninu K'ue First Nation
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Friday, June 14, 2013
DENINU K'UE/FORT RESOLUTION
In a way, Stephen Cuthbert, general manager of Deninu K'ue Development Corporation in Fort Resolution, is working in the North today thanks to the late pope John Paul II.
Stephen Cuthbert is general manager of Deninu K'ue Development Corporation, an arm of Deninu K'ue First Nation. -Paul Bickford/NNSL photo
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The pope's visit to the NWT in 1987 led Cuthbert – who was adopted in Yellowknife by a Fort Smith couple when he was just 17 days old and grew up in British Columbia – to discover his birth family was from Fort Resolution and he was a member of Deninu K'ue First Nation.
As Cuthbert tells the story, his adoptive father was back in the NWT to help extend the runway in Fort Simpson for the Pope's visit.
"While they were extending the runway, they got some hats from this visit. When he was in Hay River, my sister saw the hat and asked my dad, 'Can I get one of those hats?' He said, 'Well, I've got a couple at home. Write down your name and address, and I'll mail you a hat,'" Cuthbert said.
When she wrote down her name, his father recognized it was the same as the original name of his adopted son.
"And he said, 'Well, did you happen to have a brother name Stephen?' And she said, 'Yeah, but he was adopted years ago.' And my dad said, 'Well, I was the one that adopted him,'" Cuthbert said.
Cuthbert ended up travelling to the NWT to meet his birth mother and other relatives.
"I tried out a dog team here in Fort Resolution when I was 18 and that image stuck in my head for years," he said. "I kept thinking, 'Gee, I want to go back. I want to do that. I want to learn how to hunt. I want to learn how to do some of the things from the culture.'"
Cuthbert said, while growing up, he had been aware he was from the North.
"My parents must have told me at a pretty young age, and I physically look a lot different than my brothers. They have blond hair and blue eyes. I have a pretty dark complexion, I guess," he said, adding his adoptive parents treated him just like their own child.
His personal information was not available when he was younger, because the adoption documents were sealed until he was of legal age.
"It was just coincidental I was able to find that out on my own before I turned 19," he said, adding he wanted to get Indian status to help pay for his education and he was curious about his heritage.
His non-aboriginal adoptive family, after living in Fort Smith and Hay River, moved to British Columbia around 1976 and he grew up in Kelowna.
In B.C., he worked in the service industry, including as manager at a McDonald's and as a night auditor at a hotel.
In the late 1990s, he moved to the NWT and worked at the now-closed KFC in Hay River.
"I came up in '99 and I was happy just making chicken in the back," he said. He said one night during K'amba Carnival he made 1,300 pieces of chicken. "I couldn't believe how busy it was."
In addition, he worked at an accounting firm in Hay River, since he had completed a two-year course at Okanagan College in business administration, focusing on accounting.
In 2000, Cuthbert was hired as general manager for the Deninu K'ue First Nation's development corporation and worked there until 2004, before returning to B.C. to work in helicopter logging. He returned to the development corporation in 2007 and has been there ever since. Between 2008 and 2012, he also worked double duty as senior administrative officer for the First Nation.
"It feels good to be here and to be working towards something good for the community," he said.
Cuthbert said the corporation's mission is to create employment and training opportunities for Deninu K'ue First Nation members.
That is done through a number of initiatives, such as constructing core boxes for mining exploration companies, making fencing with a portable sawmill, running a restaurant and owning an office building.
With an impact benefit agreement (IBA) with Avalon Rare Metals, the development corporation is being approached by companies interested in joint ventures. Cuthbert said he would like to see five to 10 subsidiary companies set up by the development corporation.
The 44-year-old is happy with his role as the corporation's only employee.
"I feel really good about what's been happening just in the past few years," he said.
His adoptive father had always hoped his son would return to the North and perhaps be an MLA or work in some other way for the NWT, Cuthbert said. "So he's quite happy to see that we're working for the future generations."
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