Honouring Nations Canada - National Indigenous Good Governance Awards Ceremony

Honouring Nations Canada National Indigenous Good Governance Awards Ceremony 2024

Fulbright Canada acknowledges that we live and work on the traditional unceded territories of the Algonquin Anishinabe People and the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xwmə0kwəyəm (Musqueam), Skwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwəta təməxw (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

We also acknowledge that our work spans the territories of many Indigenous communities and recognize that they have guarded and nurtured the land for millennia.

Fulbright Canada remains committed to doing everything in our power to recognize, support, and amplify Indigenous communities and Indigenous ways of knowing. , ,

Program

Thursday, May 9th, 2024

Ottawa, Ontario

1:30 PM - 2:00 PM Opening ceremony & welcoming remarks

National Arts Centre (NAC), 1 Elgin Street, Le Salon room

2:00 PM - 3:15 PM Panel one, Project Overviews

3:15 PM - 3:45 PM Break

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM Panel two, Project Overviews

Rideau Club, 99 Bank St, 15th Floor

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM Welcoming reception

7:30 PM - 9:30 PM Awards ceremony and dinner

Welcome

Hello and thank you for joining us in Ottawa for our inaugural Honouring Nations Canada Good Governance Awards knowledge sharing and recognition ceremony. This is an exciting day for us, that we have been working towards since our program’s inception in 2021.

We first want to extend our gratitude to Dr. Michael Hawes, CEO and President of Fulbright Canada. His generosity and support for the Honouring Nations Canada program has been incredible. Our HNC CoChairs, Lea and Matt have shown such dedication to the development of this program and we want to acknowledge their significant contribution to our program and to their support of the Circle of Advisors.

The Circle of Advisors are an exceptional group of people that have spent the last two years developing our program along side the Fulbright team. These individuals have come together as one to guide our program and select the incredible honourees you will hear from today.

To the friends of Fulbright, we acknowledge that many of you have taken time out of your tremendously busy schedules to learn from the first round of HNC Good Governance Award recipients, and we thank you for your time and attention as the honourees present their work, challenges and triumphs.

We extend our sincere gratitude to each of you for being here with us.

Today is a very special day for us here at Fulbright, and for our honourees so we ask that you listen with an open mind and heart, use our time together to ask questions, and allow yourself to be inspired and moved by the incredible work being done across Canada. Together, we can do great things.

We thank you for your time, your dedication, and your kindness.

Sincerely,

Robin McLay Director of Honouring Nations Canada

“We look forward to building consensus on how the Circle of Advisors will operate, our collective mission and values, and the initiatives we will lead together.”

Honouring Nations Canada

Honouring Nations Canada is a Fulbright Canada program designed to underwrite exchange opportunities, provide national awards, support research, and promote knowledge to identify, celebrate, document, and disseminate best practices in Indigenous governance in Canada.

Honouring Nations Canada is the result of a long and productive collaboration between Fulbright Canada and the prestigious Honouring Contributions in the Governance of American Indian Nations (Honouring Nations) program of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. Honouring Nations Canada, which recognizes excellence in Indigenous governance in Canada, joins an established and growing family of such programs worldwide. This family includes the Harvard University program, the Indigenous Governance Awards program in Australia, and similar programs supporting local selfgovernance in Brazil, Chile, China, Mexico, the Philippines, Peru, and South Africa.

Fulbright Canada

In September of 1990, the governments of Canada and the United States signed a treaty establishing the Foundation for Educational Exchange between Canada and the United States of America, aka. Fulbright Canada, charged, among other things, with administering the Fulbright program in Canada.

Fulbright Canada offers grants to students and scholars for academic exchanges between Canada and the United States. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Fulbright Canada remains committed to excellence, diversity, and inclusion. Having supported thousands of extraordinary individuals, engaged and supported our world-class universities, and provided a truly transformative experience for our grantees, we are enthusiastic about our collective future.

Honouring Nations Canada Leadership

Robin McLay has had a long history of supporting Indigenous access to higher education through his association with Fulbright and Harvard University’s Native American Program. Before taking on the role with Fulbright Canada, Robin was the Senior Advisor to the President of Vancouver Island University.

Before returning home to British Columbia, Robin served as the Head of Research and Strategy at The MasterCard Foundation – a foundation that continues to support Indigenous access to higher education in partnership with many Canadian universities. Prior to that role, Robin was the Executive Director of McGill University’s Institute for the Study of International Development.

He also worked for more than a decade at Canada’s International Development Agency (CIDA) as its Director of Research and Director of Democratic Institutions and Conflict. As part of his responsibilities at CIDA he represented the Agency’s participation at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples and managed its Indigenous Peoples Partnership Program. Robin also worked at Harvard University as the Executive Director of the Harvard University Native American and still works closely with the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development as a Research Associate.

Robin pursued his graduate studies at Harvard’s Kennedy School as a Fulbright Scholar. He also holds a Master’s of Science degree from the London School of Economics and a BA from McGill University. He remains actively involved in his family’s Indigenous art business and is proud member of the Metis community in British Columbia with strong Metis roots in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Robin McLay Regional Director Fulbright Canada West, Honouring Nations Canada Program Director & Special Advisor to the CEO

Honouring Nations Canada

Circle of Advisors

The Circle of Advisors support Honouring Nations Canada in its commitment to recognize outstanding examples of Indigenous governance that has served to support meaningful economic, social, and sustainable development. The Circle of Advisors also help shape the direction of research and teaching programs that aim to address social and economic development opportunities and challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples across Canada. This carefully selected group of professionals support us by helping us build bridges between academia, policymakers, business, and community leaders.

Regional Chief Kluane Adamek Assembly of First Nations Yukon Regional Chief

Chief Adamek belongs to the Dakl’aweidi (Killerwhale) Clan and comes from a diverse background with Tlingit, Southern Tutchone, German and Irish origins.Throughout her career, she has served on a number of boards and committees, including the Yukon College Board of Governors, Kluane Dana Trust, Actua, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, and the Aboriginal Sport Circle.

Dr. Becky Cook

Lands Monitoring Manager

Misipawistik Traditional Learning Program

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Dr. Becky Cook is from Misipawistik Cree Nation, and she was raised on the lands and waters surrounding Misipawistik and Lake Winnipeg. She completed her Ph.D. in Marine Geophysics in 2015 and is now committed to her traditional education. Becky was a coordinator with the Northern Manitoba Food Culture and Community Collaborative for two years. She has worked with Elders and knowledge holders in her home community of Misipawistik to develop a land-based education program for youth, Misipawistik Pimatisimēskanaw, which offers teachings throughout the year.

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Dr. Mike DeGagné helps Indigenous students find, and achieve, their life purpose in his role as President and CEO of Indspire, Canada’s largest Indigenous charity. This year Indspire provided $20M in 6300 grants to Indigenous college and university students. Dr. DeGagné became the founding Executive Director of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, where he worked to encourage and support community-developed, delivered, and culturally based initiatives addressing the intergenerational effects of abuses suffered in the Indian residential school system.

Dr. Mike DeGagné President and CEO of Indspire

A seasoned manager with 25 years of experience running successful start-ups in the Arctic, Kirt Ejesiak is Chairman & CEO of Arctic UAV Inc (Professional Drone Imagery). He is a past chairperson of Ilitturvik University, chair of the board of the Iqaluit Museum, and has served as Iqaluit’s deputy mayor and vice-chair of Nunavut Trust. As a Fulbright Scholar, Kirt attended the Harvard Kennedy School as a Fulbright scholar, completing his MA in Public Administration in 2005. From 2010-2014, Kirt served as vicepresident and executive member of the Inuit Circumpolar Council. Kirt Ejesiak

Inuit leader and founder of UAV Arctic

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Dr. Dragon is a member of Smith’s Landing First Nation. Dr. Dragon began his career as a wildlife biologist for the Government of the Northwest Territories while completing his Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology and Management from the University of Alberta. In 2017, Dr. Dragon returned to the territorial government to serve as the Deputy Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, followed by an appointment as Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, where he was also Chairman of the Board for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation. Dr. Dragon holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University and is a graduate of the Government of Canada’s Accelerated Executive Development Program. Dr. Dragon was born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, and received a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for his community service in 2012.

Dr. Joe Dragon Board Chair, Canadian Mountain Network

Carole Anne Hilton

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Founder and CEO of the Indigenomics Institute

Carol Anne Hilton, MBA, is the CEO and founder of the Indigenomics Institute and the Global Center of Indigenomics. Carol Anne is a dynamic national Indigenous business leader, author, speaker, and senior advisor with an international master’s degree in business management from the University of Hertfordshire, England. Carol Anne is of Nuu-chah-nulth descent from the Hesquiaht Nation on Vancouver Island. Carol Anne is the author of ‘Indigenomics–Taking A Seat at the Economic Table’ and is an adjunct professor at Royal Roads University’s School of Business.

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Chris Lewis Chair, Board of Governors at Simon Fraser University and Spokesperson for the Squamish Nation

Chris Lewis’s ancestral name is Syeta’xtn. A member of the Squamish Nation Council, he is serving his third consecutive elected fouryear term as one of two spokespersons for the Nation. Syeta’xtn has also served as chair to the Simon Fraser University Board of Governors and a board member for the N’chakay Development Corporation, MST Employment and Training Society and the Coho Society of the North Shore. Syeta’xtn’s grandparents raised him to appreciate the traditional ways of the land and to further his academic education. Along with his traditional teachings, he earned a BA in geography and planning with a minor in First Nations studies from Simon Fraser University.

Brian Phillips Senior Advisor Indigenous Relations at Global Affairs Canada (retired)

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Brian Phillips is an expert in sustainable development with 40 years of experience in a variety of community, regional, national, and international roles. Previously, as a representative of the Canadian International Development Agency at the United Nations, he advanced the global understanding of Indigenous peoples’ issues in sustainable development dialogues. He was also a lead negotiator for Canada, Australia and New Zealand at the UN Istanbul Program of Action for Least Developed Countries (20112020). Brian has worked throughout his career to identify and eliminate gaps in Indigenous access to business capital, telecommunications, extractive industries, trade and health services.

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Matt Vickers, (Co-Chair)

Chairman and CEO of the Northern Nations Cooperative

Matt Vickers is a director and Chief Executive Officer of NorthernNations Cooperative. Matt is also the Managing Director of Indigenous Engagement with Hillcore Group, responsible for developing strategy and advancing new business opportunities with First Nation communities to close on these opportunities. Matt has over 36 years of experience in a diverse range in the management consulting field. Throughout his career, Matt has had the opportunity to work in a broad base of industries, including First Nations, arts and culture, financial institutions, healthcare, government, and information technology.

Lea

Nicholas-McKenzie

Former Chief of Staff of Canada’s Minister of Justice/Senior Advisor for Indigenous Issues at Global Affairs

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Lea Nicholas-Mackenzie is the founder of LNM Indigenous Consulting, a boutique consultancy working with Indigenous peoples, governments, organizations, and corporations to achieve transformative change. She is a member of the Wəlastəkwey Nation (Maliseet First Nation) at Negwotkok (Tobique) in New Brunswick. She has held numerous senior roles within Indigenous organizations and the federal government, including a recent stint as special advisor for Indigenous issues at the permanent mission of Canada to the United Nations. Lea has also served as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, as well as Director of Political Operations.

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Sarah Midanik President, Gord Downie/ Wenjack Foundation

Sarah Midanik is an Indigenous professional who is passionate about increasing capacity and social impact within the Indigenous community. Born and raised in Alberta, she is a proud member of the Métis Nation of Alberta. Sarah is currently the President & CEO of the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund, a national charity that seeks to improve the relationship between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Canadians. Sarah is the former Executive Director of the Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto (NWRCT), a charity dedicated to providing resources and support to urban Indigenous women and their families.

Cliff Fregin Executive Director, Four Pillars Society

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Cliff is one of the founders of YES – Young Entrepreneurs Symposium, which provides entrepreneurship training through an annual conference – for 15+ years

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Since August 2019, Cliff has held the Chief Operating Officer (COO) position with Indspire; a nationally recognized top 10 charity in Canada supporting indigenous students through scholarships, bursaries and mentorship initiatives. Indspire has grown to provide $20+M in scholarships to 6,900 students in the past 202122 year.

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Bob Watts Reconciliation Practitioner

Robert (Bob) Watts is a much sought-after expert in Indigenous policy, negotiations, training, and conflict resolution. He is the former Interim Executive Director of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which examined and made recommendations regarding the Indian Residential School era and its legacy. In 2019, Bob served as Chief of Staff to National Chief Perry Bellegarde and played a key role in historic budget allocations and the passage of Bills C-91 and 92. Bob is a graduate of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and Fellow at the Harvard Law School.

Currently, Bob is the Vice President of Indigenous Relations at the NWMO and an Adjunct Professor and Distinguished Fellow at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. He developed one of the first graduate-level courses on Reconciliation in the country. Bob recently received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from McMaster University. He is from the Mohawk and Ojibway Nations and resides at Six Nations Reserve, Ontario. Bob carries and honours his Ojibwe Spirit Name, Kinoozishingwak (Tall Pine), and is a member of the Bear Clan.

TRIBUTE TO William (Bill) Montour

On behalf of Fulbright Canada, Honouring Nations Canada, and the Honouring Nations Canada Circle of Advisors, we are honoured to celebrate the life and legacy of William (Bill) Montour, one of the founding members of Fulbright Canada’s Honouring Nations Circle of Advisors.

Bill Montour, a proud member of the Turtle Clan of the Mohawk Nation from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, leaves a legacy woven with tireless dedication and unwavering commitment to the advancement of Indigenous people and nation-building across Canada.

Bill was a beacon of hope and empowerment for Indigenous peoples, from his tenure as Chief of the Six Nations of the Grand River to his pivotal roles in various governmental and organizational capacities. His illustrious career, spanning roles in high steel ironworking and executive leadership in Indigenousfocused organizations, exemplifies his deep passion for fostering positive change and empowering others.

“May the work I have done speak for me”

Chief William (Bill) Montour (1941–2023)

Bill’s vision extended beyond mere rhetoric; it manifested in tangible initiatives to foster cultural revitalization, strengthen Indigenous languages, support Indigenous-led economic development, and promote robust governance practices. His unwavering advocacy for Indigenous education was instrumental in facilitating access to Fulbright Canada grants and supporting Indigenous students at prestigious institutions like Harvard University. “Bill Montour had a profound impact on the lives of many Indigenous and non-Indigenous students and was driven by his strong values and a conviction that education was a key determinant of social progress, economic prosperity, and reconciliation,” emphasizes Robin McLay, close friend of Bill’s for more than 25 years, Regional Director of Fulbright Canada West, and Honouring Nations Canada Program Director.

Alongside his devoted wife, Pamela Paul Montour, Bill played an instrumental role in the creation of Honouring Nations Canada, leaving an indelible mark on the landscape of Indigenous-led economic development. His family will never forget his life motto, “Be Kind and Be Thankful,” an enduring legacy that will continue to inspire generations, serving as a guiding light for those striving to effect positive change in their communities.

As we embark on this journey to honor Bill’s memory, we invite you to join us in our collective commitment to celebrate his remarkable legacy and carry forward his vision of empowerment, equity, and reconciliation.

CATEGORIES RECOGNITION

BUILDING SOVEREIGNTY / NATION BUILDING

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP / CLIMATE ACTION

PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATION

COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE / PROGRAMMING CULTURAL REVITALIZATION

NORTHERN NATION BUILDING

WILLIAM (BILL) MONTOUR LEGACY AWARD

National Government

Tŝilhqot’in Nation: A 10-year journey of Indigenous sovereignty and governance implementing Canada’s first recognized Aboriginal Title Lands. Coming out of the darkness of colonization, we are taking our jurisdiction back.

Our first success was on June 26, 2014, when the Supreme Court of Canada recognized that Tŝilhqot’in title does exist and the Tŝilhqot’in Nation has full control and benefit of the land. We are unwinding the knot of systems that do not work for us.

The Tŝilhqot’in 10-year anniversary of the monumental Title Case win serves to represent and highlight the progressions in sovereignty and nation building that the Tŝilhqot’in have achieved

since having Title Lands declared. Under this sovereignty, the Tŝilhqot’in have been dedicated to enhancing governance and building the capacity of the Nation.

A pivotal focus has been on the renewal, revitalization, and enforcement of Tŝilhqot’in Dechen Ts’edilhtan (laws).

Illustrative examples include the Tŝilhqot’in Collaborative Emergency Management Agreement (CEMA) and the Tŝilhqot’in Nidlin (“I am Tŝilhqot’in) Initiative. CEMA stands as a tripartite agreement involving all three levels of government in Canada (BC, Canada, and the Tŝilhqot’in Nation), aiming to establish Indigenous-led emergency management.

The Tŝilhqot’in Nidlin Initiative entails the formulation of Tŝilhqot’inised’ child and family service legislation, reclaiming jurisdiction from the Federal government and overseeing protective services in accordance with their traditions and laws. Through the completion of these initiatives, the Tŝilhqot’in Nation is asserting its jurisdiction and broadening its sovereignty and the scope of self-governance.

Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources

The Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR) is a Mi’kmaw research institute that addresses environmental concerns by focusing on issues of resource management, applied environmental research, and ecological preservation (www.UINR.ca).

Building on the format of the Eskasoni Fish and Wildlife Commission, the five First Nations communities of Unama’ki/ Cape Breton collaboratively worked to create the Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources, using settlement funds awarded following the Marshall Decision in 1999. It was registered as a society in 1999 to be the “Mi’kmaw voice on natural resources and environmental concerns.”

The main goals of the society are to provide resources for Mi’kmaq equal participation in natural resource management in Unama’ki and its traditional territory; to strengthen Mi’kmaw research and natural resource management while maintaining our traditions and world views; and to partner with other groups sharing the same desire to protect and preserve our resources for future generations.

UINR study specialty areas, that are of significance to the eco-systems of Unama’ki including, for example moose management, forestry management, and species at risk in the Bras d’Or Lakes watershed eco-system. They also collaborate with partners to provide education around Indigenous Protected Conservation Areas, and the teaching of Netukilimk (stewardship of natural recourses), and Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing.

Eenou-Eeyou Community Foundation (EECF)

Partnerships and Collaboration

Description / Initiative

The Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay(CBSSJB) and the Mohawk community of Kahnawake collaborated to provide the space and facilities and operations of the project in Kahnawake, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence. EECF provided funding for the project.

The Teepee project provides respite for Cree patients who must spend long periods in Montreal while receiving specialized medical treatment that is not available in the Cree communities. Due to the unavailability of several forms of specialized medical care in the Cree communities, many Cree patients must reside for long periods in Montreal where they are isolated from their community life, their language and their traditions. The Teepee

project offers respite from this.

The project allows the patients to temporarily leave their downtown hospitals and other institutions to get out of the city, to gather, to speak Cree to one another, and to eat traditional Cree foods. In the Teepee project, the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay and the Mohawk community of Kahnawake collaborate to provide an important service to the Cree population that is not being provided by the southern health and social service institutions.

The project was originally designed to benefit Cree patients being treated in Montreal. However, many Cree students studying in Montreal and missing their small tightly-knit Cree communities have also begun participating. They do this to benefit from speaking Cree, eating traditional Cree foods, and very importantly, interacting with the Cree Elder patients, replicating a central Cree social practice of Elder-youth communication and teaching. This in turn, further benefits the Cree patients though increased social interaction.

The Mohawk community of Kahnawake provides the space and facilities. The CBSSJB provides the transport from the Montreal institutions to Kahnawake, funding for harvesting and transporting the traditional foods, and the operational management of the project.

Stoney Nakoda Tribal Administration

The Stoney Nakoda Nations (SNN) consist of the Bearspaw First Nation, Chiniki First Nation and the Wesley First Nation who were signatories to Treaty 7 (1877). The “Enhancing the Reintroduction of Plains Bison in Banff National Park Through Cultural Monitoring and Traditional Knowledge Project” or the Bison Cultural Project, was conducted by the Stoney Consultation Team of the Stoney Tribal Administration, along with assistance from Stoney Nakoda Elders, Knowledge Keepers and Youth.

This project was based in Mînî Rhpa Mâkoche, also known as Banff National Park. In 2017, 16 bison were released in the northeast section of Banff National Park and the herd has since grown to over 60 animals roaming freely. This project marks the first time that the Stoney Nakoda First Nations have worked together with Parks Canada on a wildlife study.

In November 2022, Parks Canada announced that after an absence of over a century, the return of wild plains bison is a historic, ecological and cultural triumph. The Stoney Nakoda applied a systematic, culturally-appropriate monitoring process that included Elder recognition, Elder interviews, ceremony, planning, fieldwork, report writing and community engagement to describe the cultural impacts of the bison reintroduction Cultural monitoring can be used to better understand bison herd dynamics, predator-prey relationships, and to better describe the renewed connection to the land by the Stoney Nakoda Nations. This project is not only providing an understanding of Bison habitat, behaviour and practices, from a traditional knowledge perspective, but is also helping the Stoney Nakoda reconnect to their traditional lands, migration routes, camping sites, and hunting and gathering areas within Mînî Rhpa Mâkoche.

The Stoney Nakoda have been in the Rocky Mountain region since time immemorial and bison were once the centre of the plains landscape ecosystem and central to Indigenous peoples’ lives. Stoney Nakoda subsistence and cultural and spiritual practices were and are still intimately tied to the bison and this landscape. However, due to overexploitation, habitat loss and disease, bison were nearly extirpated from the Alberta plains. Moreover, when Banff National Park was created, Indigenous people were removed and kept out of the new park in the interest of game conservation for hunting and tourism, and the “civilization” of Indigenous people.

The Bison Cultural Project not only offers traditional knowledge related to bison in mountain landscapes, but also suggests a method for implementing the 11 important report recommendations. In this way, the report is a stepping stone to action, rather than another report on a shelf. Projects such as this are an integral part of Truth and Reconciliation and demonstrate how traditional ecological knowledge can be woven with Western science to define a more holistic approach to conservation.

First Nations Health Authority (FNHA)

Community Governance/ Programming BC

Description / Initiative

FNHA is the first and only provincial First Nations health authority in Canada. The FNHA is part of a unique health governance structure that includes political representation and advocacy through the First Nations Health Council, and technical support and capacity development through the First Nations Health Directors Association.

Collectively, this First Nations health governing structure works in partnership with BC First Nations to achieve our shared vision. The mental health and wellness (MHW) of First Nations in BC continues to be impacted by ongoing trauma related to colonialism, racism, the toxic-drug crisis and the announcements of unmarked graves at former residential schools.

A persons’ mental health is an integral component of overall health and well-being. First Nations in BC face higher-rates of mental health needs, and are disproportionately impacted by the toxic drug crisis, with First Nations dying at 6 times the rate of other BC residents in 2023 (January to June).

The MHW MOU provided $30M ($10M from each partner) of flexible funding to communities and Nations across BC to support community-driven, Nation-based MHW planning activities and demonstration sites. This work would foster culture as a social determinant of health and mental health, offer more flexible approaches to funding and reporting, and promote innovative partnerships for greater collaboration and service integration.

The partners would also work towards developing a 10Year strategy to address root causes over the long term. Additionally, a $60M investment ($20M from each partner) is being used to renovate or replace 6 First Nations treatment centres and 2 new builds across the province.

The new and renovated treatment centres will improve access to culturally safe treatment services for First Nations in BC, and add more capacity to the system.

NU Nunavut Quest Dog Team Committee

/ Initiative

This project reintroduces travel by dog team, the independence and freedom of movement that was the Inuit way of life before Canada’s systematic slaughter of sled dogs starting in the 1950’s as a way to start northern settlements and forcible schooling of Inuit children.

This project reintroduces the cultural practice of hunting by dog team and a means to provide country food for the community. It brings back the spiritual bond between nature and Inuit and gradual erasing the trauma caused by Canada ending the forced welfare on a proud independent peoples. This project brings back from the brink the cultural practice of keep dog teams as part of community wellness. It reintroduces the ancient knowledge, language and tools used by our ancestors.

This project has shown Inuit are capable harvesters, caring for the land, and we have the ability to live in nature in harmony. The practice of reintroducing the Dog teams shows Inuit’s ability to live in harmony in the harshest environment sustainably. This demonstrates that other communities can and should do same by only following the same path and learning from those who are reintroducing the ancient practice. This will have a long lasting effect that Inuit are the most capable travellers, harvesters and community minded people in the Arctic.

Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey (MK)

NS

William (Bill) Montour Legacy Award

Description / Initiative

Between 1992 and 1997, the participating Mi’kmaq First Nation communities of Nova Scotia, the federal government of Canada, and the province of Nova Scotia worked together to find a way to return control of First Nations education to the Mi’kmaq.

In February 1997, a Final Agreement was signed between nine of the 13 Mi’kmaq communities, Canada and the Province of Nova Scotia. On April 22, 1999 the Mi’kmaq Education Act incorporated Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey in federal law.

The Mi’kmaw Education Act, a self-governing agreement, recognizes the role of the education authority to support local band schools in delivering culturally relevant education -

language immersion and other culturally rich programs and activities, consistent with the United Nations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Typically, First Nations schools receive 30% less per child than off-reserve schools, and statistically, First Nations kids are more likely to end up in jail than in a university classroom. However, the agreement that created the MK also harmonized the payments made per student with the provincial rates.

As of 2020, high school graduation rates among First Nation students in Nova Scotia were nearly 94% which compares to the national average of 35%. MK students have a bright future and are secure in their culture, language and identity. And that is the difference that respect for human rights can make – the right to self-determination, the right to culture, the right to identity.

As a joint sectoral governance initiative, MK demonstrates the power of working together and asserting jurisdiction over a matter that is critical to the future of the Mi’kmaw people. MK provides a model to other First Nations who are seeking to develop joint governance institutions for education, including programming and resources to preserve and revitalize their language and culture.

OUR PARTNERS

Honouring Nations Canada would like to thank the following partners for their ongoing support