The Firm
Thirty years of getting things built.
A First Nations economic development and mining liaison firm in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Thirty years of work across Canada, from mine sites and cleanup programs to Chief-and-Council tables.
Years running regulated, capital-heavy work for industry and government, now turned toward Nations
In community funding arranged or applied for on behalf of Nations and partners
Nations that own the company whose economic development arm Willow built in 2026
Provinces and territories worked in, from the Prairies to Baffin Island
WILLOW Indigenous Community Services Ltd.
Darrel has spent thirty years running work that is regulated, costs real money, and is judged by whether it gets built. He started in the field. For ten years he ran his own environmental company in Alberta, serving oil and gas operators across BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. He managed projects, tested soil and drilling fluid, kept sites onside with regulators, and ran crews and equipment, often on several sites at once. Every drilling program depended on the same thing: working relationships with First Nation Chiefs and Councils, landowners, contractors and regulators. He ran the waste program on Canada’s first steam-assisted oil sands project. Then he spent nine years at Canada’s largest private environmental contractor as a project manager and business developer. Hazardous waste. Cleanup. A lined landfill. Demolition. Water treatment. The radioactive-materials program for a national pipeline.
Then he ran programs for the public. He ran Manitoba’s beverage-container recycling program, where the recycling rate rose more than 30% and four times as many businesses took part. He ran the province’s energy-efficiency programs for businesses, towns and First Nations, doubled their revenue, and led LED retrofits in First Nation communities. Along the way he learned how Ministers, city directors and program officers decide, and what a complete application looks like from their side of the desk.
Since 2013 he has turned that toward Nations. Through Willow he put together and ran a seventeen-person legal and Indigenous team to bring insurance-backed specific-claim financing to First Nations, a way for a Nation to fund its claim without spending its own money. He negotiated the Band Council resolutions and contracts behind more than $16 million in community funding arranged that way. Since then he has built the business arm of a company owned by 24 Nations. He has carried a displaced community’s recognition file and funding applications. He has written development plans for mining companies that need a partnership a Nation would sign. He has also audited health facilities for Indigenous Services Canada across Manitoba and worked with Inuit organizations on Baffin Island.
Willow is not Indigenous-owned, and says so. It works at a Nation’s pace, leaves the skills and systems behind, and has turned down deals it judged would not hold up in ten years. The firm is based in Winnipeg and serves Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Northwestern Ontario. See five recent engagements →
Darrel W. Olson
President, WILLOW Indigenous Community Services Ltd.
Owner — Darrel Olson Consulting Ltd., Alberta
Ten years running his own environmental company for oil and gas operators across BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Project management, soil and drilling-fluid testing, permits, crews and equipment, often on several sites at once. Waste management on Canada’s first steam-assisted oil sands project. This is where the work with First Nation Chiefs and Councils, landowners and regulators began.
Project Manager & Business Development — Hazco / Tervita
Nine years at Canada’s largest private environmental contractor. Cleanup and hazardous waste programs across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta for government and industry clients.
Senior Program Manager — Ecofitt (Provincial Energy Efficiency Program)
Manitoba’s energy-efficiency programs for businesses, towns and First Nations. Doubled program revenue, led First Nation LED retrofits, and landed a $1.2 million commercial retrofit.
Operations Manager — CBCRA
Manitoba’s beverage container recycling program. Recycling rate up more than 30%, four times as many businesses taking part, pilots in Alberta and First Nation communities, and a standing seat with City directors and provincial Ministers.
Founded WILLOW Indigenous Community Services Ltd.
Thirty years of running projects, programs and Indigenous economic development work, brought into one firm.
Mining Liaison & Indigenous Economic Development
Chief-and-Council relationships across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Northwestern Ontario. Ownership and governance models in use in more than one region. A liaison practice that companies hire because the Nations already know him.
Based in Winnipeg, the centre of Canada.
Willow-ICS is based in Winnipeg, on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the Red River Métis, and serves Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Northwestern Ontario. Our clients are First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities and organizations, and the companies and government partners who work with them. Most of our work to date has been with First Nations and Inuit; Métis governments are welcome at our table. Darrel has worked coast to coast, including with Inuit communities on Baffin Island and across the eastern Arctic. That taught him one thing above all: there is no single "Indigenous perspective." Every Nation has its own government, culture, history and priorities, and we treat each one on its own terms. We say we serve three regions because that is where we can actually show up.
Darrel leads every file personally. He builds the websites and systems himself, with a small set of tools and specialists he has worked with for years, and brings in lawyers, accountants and engineers when a file needs them. Willow-ICS is not Indigenous-owned, and is not a law firm or financial advisor.