CANMORE – Tim Carwell has been spearheading his social enterprise called DreamsTree Community Investments for several years.
And Carwell, a Canmore resident and member of Beaver First Nation in Alberta, is now looking to expand upon his venture by creating Indigenous Centres of Excellence across the country.
Carwell created his social enterprise three years ago, in honour of his late mother Janette, who was part of the Sixties Scoop. The scoop saw the widespread removal of Indigenous children, taken from their families and communities and adopted by non-Indigenous families. Carwell’s mother died in 2024.
Carwell, 56, created Dreams Tree Community Investments through The CommAlert Group and is the CEO of the company that provides emergency communication services.
“My mom had been sick for quite some time and I guess I just finally got the confidence to talk about her story and then realized that it was my story,” he said.
He wanted to do more than just talk. Thus, Carwell created his social enterprise.
“The reason I wanted to do it is because I think that reconciliation for a lot of people has turned into a word that maybe doesn’t mean the same thing as it once did,” he said. “And so, I really wanted to focus on reciprocity and maybe taking the time to get to know one another before we jump into these heavy, heavy conversations.”
While continuing to support various goodwill projects, Carwell’s attention has also turned to launching Indigenous Centres of Excellence.
The eventual goal is to have these venues across the country. For now, there’s a three-year plan to launch the first three in Alberta.
“There seems to be a real interest in understanding the Indigenous communities and maybe a lack of understanding of how diverse they are,” Carwell said. “So, the idea around centres of excellence is to create a gathering place where people can come and learn and experience all that’s good and positive and take in what they want when they want.”
The centres will vary in what they offer. For example, they could include a hotel and conference space, a museum or art gallery, spaces for business innovation, economic strategy development and technology, or spaces where people can teach, learn and create community.
“I live in the Bow Valley,” Carwell said. “I think there’s an opportunity in the Bow Valley and I’m sort of getting to know the communities here. And so, there’s definitely going to be one there.”
Centres are also being planned in Sherwood Park and in High Level.
“We want to make sure that we do it properly by meeting as many First Nation communities as we can in western Canada before we put a shovel in the ground,” Carwell said.
Past projects
Carwell’s first project was in Edmonton and called The Goodwill Project.
“Essentially, what happened was we had some office space available that we weren’t using after the pandemic,” he said. “We decided that my company wasn’t going to use that space anymore. We still had a lease on it, so we decided that we would try to do something positive with that lease.”
The word was put out that there would be a giveaway. A technology company that had been around for less than five years and one that also had a diversity, equity and inclusion program, was being sought.
About 75 businesses applied. After various interviews, an Indigenous company called RUNWITHIT Synthetics was selected. Their lease and Internet connection were paid for the next two and a half years.
“That sort of sparked this idea of doing good in the community,” Carwell said.
Another project that Carwell speaks highly of is a mobile planetarium, operated by George Desjarlais, who is a star storyteller and a member of Frog Lake First Nation in Alberta.
Carwell knew that Desjarlais had previously denied funding in his quest to buy a mobile planetarium. He provided $65,000 to Desjarlais who was able to get his planetarium up and running.
“He just wanted to create an opportunity for himself to share more of the stories with more people,” Carwell said. “So, it was just a real no-brainer from us because I’d been sitting with him for two or three years, learning from him. I never thought I’d get the opportunity to pay him back for all the things that he taught me. But I did.”
As Carwell continues to work on Indigenous Centres of Excellence, Dreams Tree Community Investments will continue to support various goodwill projects
“They’re never going to end,” Carwell said. “There’s always an opportunity to do good in community. And it’s not just about First Nations. It’s about helping each other. So, our projects are community-based, no matter where the community is.”
Dreams Tree Community Investments has also supported learner investments over the years.
An example is the Ohpinitotan program, which was established a couple of years ago in Edmonton in partnership with NorQuest College.
The Ohpinitotan program, which started with a cohort of 30 students and then expanded to 45 registrants, is a training and employability initiative for Indigenous students. The goal is to provide students with part-time jobs with organizations that have been engaged in Indigenous cultural teachings.
“We won some awards for that,” Carwell said of the Ohpinitotan program.
More information on Dreams Tree Community Investments is available through its website https://thedreamstree.com.
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. The position covers Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation and Kananaskis Country.
