By Glenn Hicks

Indigenous culture

Wanuskewin Park seeks global status with new CEO

Feb 6, 2019 | 12:07 PM

A woman with a background in Aboriginal education, human resources and the retention of Indigenous talent will lead the growth of one of Saskatchewan’s most prestigious national sites and also hopes to guide it to world status.

Darlene Brander is the new CEO of the Wanuskewin Heritage Park and will start the role on March 4.

She was chosen by the organization’s board from almost a hundred applicants from around the country.

For Brander, who was previously Director of Human Resources for Athabasca Catering Limited, things have come full circle regarding the park.

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“I started at Wanuskewin towards the beginning of my career as an Aborignal education awareness coordinator and then a manager after that,” she told paNOW. “We put on workshops that helped companies gain a better understanding and appreciation of Indigenous cultures and how to better impact the work environment.”

Brander is an active volunteer and also serves on the board of the Nutrien Children’s Discovery Museum of Saskatchewan, Canadian Association of Police Governance and is Chair of the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners.

Now she will head a team dedicated to further elevating the status of a site that has been a gathering place for Indigenous peoples for more than 6,000 years.

From left, new CEO for the Wanuskewin Heritage Park Darlene Brander, Elder Mary Lee, and chair of the board Candace Wasacase – Lafferty (submitted photo/Wanuskewin.com)

“Her reputation as a community leader along with her strong sense of business expertise makes us confident that she will lead Wanuskewin well into the future,” chair of the board Candace Wasacase-Lafferty said in a media release.

The thundering of the bison will be once again heard – _{Darlene Brander CEO}

Brander said among their four pillars for the future of the park was to become a centre of excellence in education, interpretation and preservation of Indigenous arts and culture. Other ambitious goals include putting the site on the global map.

“[We will bid] to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site, that’s very exciting,” Brander said, noting there will be a lot of steps that need to be taken to achieve that and it’s “ a process that requires a lot of elbow grease.”

Preserving the park’s unique ecology is another key aspect along with an exciting wildfire component; returning the bison to the Wanuskewin plain.

“If you can imagine the thundering of the bison will be once again heard, that’s pretty exciting,” she said.

In 2017 the park launched its Thundering Ahead capital fundraising campaign and renewal project.

It plans a grand reveal in the summer of 2020.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow