Gilbert Jacob (Chief Gibby)

And Chief Gibby wanted their signature project to make money.

After decades of being displaced, generations of Squamish had struggled.

Growing up in the 1950s, when Chief Gibby was a young kid, he didn't have plumbing, didn't have running water.

And since then, it had been hard for many Squamish people to catch up economically.

Pay the bills, you know.

In the U.S., some Native tribes might choose to build casinos.

But in this case, Chief Kibbe and his team were looking at a piece of land in the middle of a major city.

They realized the best use of land was rental apartments.

And then Chief Gibby and his team had to sell the idea to the entire Squamish nation.

They shared the proposal in bulletins and newsletters, and people debated the merits and drawbacks at family and community meetings.

Wilson's great-grandfather lived in Sanak in the early 1900s.

He was one of the people driven off the land.

And at the time when they were discussing Chief Gibby's plan, Wilson found himself thinking a lot about this one phrase, this saying that he'd often heard a Squamish elder repeat.

about their responsibility to future generations.

What did that mean to you when you heard it?

Wilson says he learned about it as a Squamish teaching to ensure the health and wealth of the next generations.

To Wilson, Chief Gibby's plan had two problems.

First, these buildings just felt like your standard generic apartment complex.

They didn't really feel squamish.

And as a self-governing nation, they were in this unique position to build...