Also known as ?Aq'am, St. Mary's is a member community of the Ktunaxa Nation based in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia. As a community, we share many values – recognizing the importance of family, unity and co-operation, effective communication, love and kindness, respect, safety and security, inclusion, education and learning, healthy and balanced living – and take pride in our heritage, language and culture. We value natural law and practice stewardship of the land, water, animals, and plants.
?Aq'am Community Enterprises administers and manages a number of business development initiatives, including Community-owned Business Development; Resource Development; Airport Lands Development and Leasing; Strategic Partnership Development; Tourism, Culture and Hospitality; Agriculture; and more.
St. Mary's owns and operates a Community development corporation, ?Aq'am Community Enterprises (ACE). We are working toward a profitable, sustainable, and self-sufficient community economy that optimizes our diverse skills.
Our efforts focus on five objectives:
-Create local, responsible enterprises.
-Grow food and expand agriculture.
-Build employment and entrepreneurial skills and opportunities through training, mentorship, and partnerships.
-Develop our community government’s capital assets.
-Create and sustain a revenue base for our community government.