Y O! NEWS
DEC 6 2011
3 public works & misc. updates 4 Treaty update
return of the ccp
5
elders update & christmas wishlist
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ec dev update
7
soup night & planting daffodils
Working on the Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Comprehensive Community Plan (CCP) with all of you was so much fun, I want to do it again!
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birthday wishes & more
9
social assistance form
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local job postings
11-17
colouring & activities
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mark your calendar
In the new year I will start having CCP meetings again for a few months. There are a couple of reasons why we will be doing more CCP meetings: •
I miss hanging out with you :)
•
There has been a lot of progress made in the last year, and it’s time to update our CCP with the new information
•
There’s a lot of new projects happening, and we need your input on these projects so they can be awesome
I will probably call a CCP Advisory Committee meeting in early to mid January, and am hoping to start the weekly community meetings and have some kind of big community event in late January or early February. I am going to need a lot of help with this, so I hope that lots of you will take part in these meetings and the advisory committee to help me update the CCP and keep our community moving in a good direction.
trust disbursements The Trust christmas bonus cheque disbursements
went well up at the Wakas Hall today, with members of the Trust Committee present to take care of the paperwork and distribute the cheques. If you didn’t get yours today, you can still pick it up tomorrow at the Wakas Hall from 9am to 4pm. Call Robert Walkus for more Trust-related info, (250) 230-2155. Thanks to everyone who submitted proposals for the catering & gift buying for the healing feast on January 21. For info about this feast call Gary Walkus at 230-2479
If you have any ideas, questions, or just want to chat, give me a shout at the office (949-8343) e-mail jessieh@ gwanakplan.org, msg me on Facebook, or drop by for a visit. Merry Christmas everyone!
Jessie Hemphill
Exec. Assistant, Communications & Community Planning Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Nations Yo! News - 06/12/11 Page 1
Yo! News is prepared by Jessie Hemphill, Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Executive Assistant and Communications Officer. This newsletter is delivered to all houses on the Tsulquate Reserve every second week and posted to the Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw website. If you have questions or comments about this newsletter, contact Jessie at (250) 949-8343 or e-mail jessieh@gwanakplan.org. The purpose of this newsletter is to keep Gwa’sala’Nakwaxda’xw community members informed about what is happening in the Gwa’sala’Nakwaxda’xw Band Office and the surrounding community. Anybody is welcome to make submissions to the newsletter, including announcements, lost-and-found, photographs, bakwam’kwala words, stories, legends, drawings, etc. etc. etc. Other ways to stay connected to the Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw community are: Website (www.gwanak.info) Facebook (User: Gwasala Nakwaxdaxw) Twitter (User: Gwasnakw) Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Nations Band Office PO Box 998, 154 Tsulquate Reserve Port Hardy, B.C. V0N 2P0
COUNCIL Chief Paddy Walkus: (250) 949-1486 Sits on all committees / chief@gwanak.info
Ernie Henderson: (250) 230-4198 Health & Social Development, Housing, Fisheries, Education, Ec. Dev., Treaty and Finance Portfolios
Crystal Walkus: (250) 230-4649 Ec. Dev., Personnel & Policies, and Recreation Portfolios
Gary Walkus: (250) 230-2479 Health & Social Development Portfolio
Robert Walkus: (250) 230-2155 Education Portfolio
Victor Walkus: (250) 230-3723 Health & Social Development, Housing, Forestry, Ec. Dev., and Recreation Portfolios
Norman Charlie: (250) 902-8492 David Charlie: (250) 949-9413
Staff Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Band Office Phone: (250) 949-8343 / Fax: (250) 949-7402 Les Taylor, Band Manager manager@gwanak.info / (250) 902-2307 Margaret Bernard, Finance finance@gwanak.info / (250) 902-2308 Conrad Browne, Economic Development ecdev@gwanak.info / (250) 902-2301 Pat Dawson-Hunt, Social Development patriciad@gwanak.info / (250) 902-2309 Colleen Hemphill, Treaty chemphil@telus.net / (250) 949-8424 Jessie Hemphill, Communications & Exec. Assistant jessieh@gwanakplan.org / Cell: (250) 902-8221 Lorna Henderson, Housing ldhenderson@live.ca / (250) 902-2304 Nicole McLelland, Natural Resources Manager nmclelland@cablerocket.com / (250) 974-8424 Fax: (888) 345-5063 Grace Smith, Education grace.smith176@gmail.com / (250) 902-2320 Bob Swain, Public Works Cell: (250) 230-0087 Native Courtworker Office (250) 902-2223 Natasha Walkus, Treaty Resource Assistant natashaw@gntreaty.org Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Elders Centre Silena George, Elders’ Coordinator (250) 949-7406 / silenag@gntreaty.org Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Health & Family Services Front Desk: (250) 949-8131 / Fax: (250) 949-6811 Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw School Front Desk: (250) 949-7743 / Fax: (250) 949-7422 Eke Me-Xi School (250) 949-8332
Office closures The Band Office, Health & Family Services and the School will all close on December 17th, re-opening on January 3rd 2012. SA cheques can be picked up on December 14th, the bonus cheques will be distributed in early January. Please remember to fill out the monthly application forms before the 14th. If you have doctor’s appointments coming up make sure you get your paperwork in by the 14th so that your patient travel can be done up before the 16th.
Did you Know... The Mt. Waddington Health Network recently launched a draft Addictions and Recovery Services Plan, which will hopefully make a ton of improvements to the way that addicts get help during their recovery. The next community meeting to review this draft is January 11, 2011. Mt. Waddington Health Network Meeting Nov. 30, 2011 @ Fort Rupert
Public works BY update BOB SWAIN
WATER RESULTS: The chlorine level for this week is 0.25 at the Health and Family Services building. EMERGENCY PLAN: Some of our committee members recently took a ICS 100 course. There is a ESS 100 session on Dec. 9 for our new ESS team. HOLIDAYS: I will be using five days of my holiday time next week Dec.12 -16. Be back to work in the New Year. I would like to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Bob Swain public works Emergency Management Committee Meeting
Port Hardy will be the location for a Truth & Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearing in 2012. Local Band Managers and TRC staff are meeting this week to talk about where to hold the hearings. For more info on the hearings check this out: http://www.trc.ca Seff & Aftab
Aftab Erfan, UBC School of Community & Regional Planning (SCARP) student, has held parenting groups and interviews in the community for several months now. She will be back early in 2012 to help with more community planning. Our partnership with UBC SCARP has been going strong for about three years now! Aftab & Seff, we’ll miss you, see you soon! Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Nations Yo! News - 06/12/11 Page 3
treaty update
ment, simply put is Human Resource Planning to develop a ‘clear, practical strategy to make sure that a community has the right people working at the right time in the right jobs.’ As she states, “This supports good governance.”
Hello and happy holidays to you all! I hope this Yo! News finds you in good health and spirits, surrounded by loving family and friends.
When the day comes and if our folks choose to ratify a Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nations Treaty, available human resources will be critical to our success. This means, we need to identify future jobs, people, training and opportunities that will insure our Nations are governed in a manner that will meet the needs of all community members, whether in education, health, housing, employment, political or management to list a few.
A Report from the First Nations Summit
There are large gatherings where First Nations Chiefs and Negotiators unite to exchange information, share and strategize on common issues. These meetings take place three times a year. Last week I travelled to the First Nations Summit Meeting in Vancouver to meet with almost 45 First Nations leaders from throughout the Province. During the three day session, informative reports and presentations were made to us by the following organizations: Summit Political Executive, BC Treaty Commission (BCTC), the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), First Nations Organizations such as First Nations Health and Council, FN Child and Family Wellness Council, FN Education Steering Committee, FN Energy and Mining Council, FN Forestry Council, National Centre for FN Governance, Aboriginal Tourism BC and Industry Council for Aboriginal Business (ICAB)
The tool kit presented by Chief Commissioner Sophie, is an excellent beginning and is developed to suit our Nations unique needs and circumstances. There are many folks in our community that already have qualifications and skills to help us move forward. It will be our task to identify those of you who are interested. A process we could use is written in the new “tool kit”, entitled: Where are we now? As we continue to negotiate a treaty for our community, we will put a lot of effort toward assessment of individual interests and training needs with the aim to focus on education and opportunities for our future.
As you can imagine, there is a great deal of information presented and shared. The BC Treaty Commission Chief Commissioner, Sophie Pierre, delivered one presentation that was of particular interest to me. In addition to highlighting the Annual Report on Treaty Negotiations in BC, she launched a “tool kit” entitled, A Human Resource Capacity Tool for First Nations// PLANNING FOR TREATY. The purpose of the docu-
At the end of the three days First Nations Summit Meeting, I left with a large bag filled with documents to share with our community. Many communities experience similar challenges that we do, it was great to gather and learn together about common issues and strategies that we can all utilize as we move forward.
colleen hemphill chief negotiator
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elders update Hello everyone! Happy Holidays to you
and yours! May you have a joyous, safe, fun, & family filled holiday! Here is what’s taking place for the next couple of weeks. Thursday will be our last cater job of the year! I will begin cooking @ 9am here at your Elder’s Centre. Please feel free to come and help if you’d like.
Christmas wish list Name: Item: Store location: Size: Colour: Brand (optional):
I leave Friday morning to Campbell River to buy all the Elder’s gifts! Please fill in the wish list form and hand it into me by Thursday @ 4pm! If you do not hand in your wish list, you will have to settle
Talented Nursery children paint their self portraits... complete with mohawks.
for a gift card for a business in town :) I will be handing the gifts out @ the Community Christmas Dinner next Monday as well. The same as last year! Please call or some and see me in the office if you have any questions or concerns :) Please note the office is closed Dec. 17-Jan. 3. Call or text me if need be @ 949 0226. ~Gilakasla silena george Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Nations Yo! News - 06/12/11 Page 5
ec dev update Merry Christmas! It is at this time of year when I always do a review of what has happened in my life and what still needs to be done so please allow me this indulgence… This past year has seen some changes and very momentous occasions; it is the first full year without my Dad who has passed on but is still with me every day. It is the first full year without my eldest son who has moved to the interior and is furthering his education. It has been a year of learning and growing. It has been a year of frustration. It has been a year of great joy. And it has especially been a year of tremendous hope. I am looking forward in the New Year to continue to work very hard for the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nations in my different capacities. I take great pride in telling people who I work for and I will continue to let them know that the great proud people of the Gwa’sala‘Nakwaxda’xw Nations are looking forward to amazing things in the years to come. To the members of the community who I have been blessed to sit and share time with- Thank you! We all get a lot more out of our conversations when we can look each other in the eye and see what is coming from the heart. I promise to get out and meet many more of the community that I am working for. The programs that I am involved with have been extremely busy this year.
Janella Johnny, Junior Watchman
The Nations are looking at a pilot test site for scallop farming, we should have some news at the beginning of the year. We are moving ahead with a tourism project that will see paying customers travelling to see the Nakwakto rapids within the Traditional Territories. We will be combining this with some cultural information that we can share with our guests. The floathouse project is just getting started and we hope to realize some benefit from the purchase of this infrastructure in the spring when the tree planting crew is tentatively set to rent it from us again. We will be doing small renovations to try to bring the efficiency and comfort up to a higher standard. The main focus (but not the only focus) for the New year will be around shellfish aquaculture and Tourism. I will be providing more information on all that is going on in the world of ecdev and stewardship in the weeks to come.
Ethan shaw (junior watchman) & tom henderson jr. (Guardian Watchman)
The watchmen saw a junior watchmen program that had 2 youths from our community gain some valuable time and work experience. The program was able to go longer this year than last and we are hoping to be able to expand it even further next year. Economic Development is still moving ahead, but in the New Year we will have to make somebig steps forward in the process of developing the corporate structure that limits the Bands liability and taxation exposure.
From my family- my wife Cyndi, my 2 sons Clayton and Benton and myself I wish you and yours nothing but the greatest joy through the Holiday season and an exciting and progressive New Year!!!
Conrad Browne
Economic Development officer
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Soup Nights We would like to take this time to wish each and every person here the very best this Christmas season. And to thank each one of you who has come to break bread with us. Who have come to eat and ended up visiting with others, others that you may not normally get a chance to get to know or to just have the opportunity to visit!
The Nursery children have planted their daffodil bulbs. All the children in the school have at one time or another planted something in our school flower gardens. Now we just need to wait for spring! Another benefit would be that there was many a time that some people who attended would come to help prepare the soup beginning at 4:00. And we’d eat at 6:00, this gave you a chance to share your talents and gave others a chance to learn how to make bannock, for instance!
maria bocskei
Others would stay by after and help by cleaning up. It does get very busy and it would, as you can expect, it would be tiring! Since there has been so much happening lately, we haven’t really had a chance to have very many soup nights lately. Normally, we held them twice a month, on the 19th which is the day before Child Tax day. And the second one would be on the last Tuesday of the month / just before Social Assistance issue day. This Child Tax day will be on the 13th of December, right? Well, that would normally mean we would have had one on the 12th, but the Community Christmas Dinner is that day so, once again, we will not be having it! Well, since we can’t have a soup night this month we’ve decided to have a couple movie nights. Tentatively on Wednesday, December 21st and Tuesday, December 27th at 6:00 p.m. We will have notices out on the bridge the day before? As well, we will have a notice on Facebook. Have a safe and happy holiday
Bob and Cathy Swain Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Nations Yo! News - 06/12/11 Page 7
Birthday wishes & More! community members speak out on Facebook
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If you do not get this form in EVERY MONTH by the cut-off date, you might not get your cheque! Please remember to bring in your BC Hydro bills as well, or else your Hydro will not be paid for! Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Nations Yo! News - 06/12/11 Page 9
Local
J o b P o s t i ng s
Job Title : Service Advisor
Company Name : Dave Landon Motors Ltd Date Posted : 12/5/11 Full/Part-Time : Full-Time Location : Port Hardy Details : Dave Landon Ford is accepting applications for a Service advisor position. The successful candidate must have superior customer service skills, general mechanical knowledge & be sales driven. Contact: Send resumes by email to dlsales@telus.net
Job Title : Barista
Company Name : North Coast Backpackers Date Posted : 12/5/11 Full/Part-Time : Part-time Location : Port Hardy Details : PT or could be FT position if desired. Must be willing to work evenings and weekends. Duties include make special teas/ coffees, serve customers, cashier and closing. Must have “FOODSAFE’ certificate & experience. To start ASAP. Contact : Apply in person with resume, Rob or Savannah, 101-8636 Granville Street
Job Title : Retail Clerk
Company Name : Old Schoolhouse Store Date Posted : 12/5/11 Full/Part-Time : Full-Time Location : Port Hardy Details : Clerk, cashier, customer service, stock shelves, dust. Must be flexible able to work morning shift 6 am to 2 pm or 2 pm to 10 pm shift. Must have transportation to work. Contact : Apply in person: 4950 Beaver Harbour Store, Port Hardy
Job Title : Cleaner Company Name : Date Posted : Full/Part-Time : Location : Salary : Details : Contact : Bal at 250-902-2226
B and B Cleaning 12/1/11 Part-time Port Hardy $10 an hour Must have a drivers license. To apply please call Balwinder
Job: Experienced Shingle Sawyer
Company Name : Gold Band Shake & Shingle Date Posted : 11/30/11 Full/Part-Time : Full-Time Location : Port Hardy Details: Experienced shingle sawyer. Must have CSAcertified safety boots. Start ASAP. Apply to Scott: Phone: 250-902-1009; Fax: 250-949-2689; in-person 6225 Jensen Cove Rd. Port Hardy, BC
Job Title : Labourer
Company Name : Gold Band Shake & Shingle Mill Date Posted : 11/30/11 Full/Part-Time : Full-Time Location : Port Hardy Details : Labourer in shake and shingle mill. Must have CSA approved steel toe boots. Apply by phone, fax or in person. Contact : Apply to Scott by Phone: 250902-1009 or Fax: 250-949-2689 or in person 6225 Jensen Cove Road
Job: Hoe Chucker/ Log Loader
Company Name :Murdoch Hauling & Excavating Ltd Date Posted : 12/1/11 Full/Part-Time : Full-Time Location : Port McNeil Salary : TBN Details : Sorting wood and loading end dumps, dump trucks and logging trucks. Experience a must. Contact : Fax resume to Shane Murdock at 250-284-3418
Job Title : Master Limited
Company Name : Aqua Sea Industries Date Posted : 11/24/11 Full/Part-Time : Full-Time Location : Coal Harbour Salary : Negotiable Details : PT to FT position-hours/days negotiable.Skipper vessel for tug/barge work/day trips in Quatsino Sound. Must have Master Limited ticket or skipper experience and willing to work toward ticket. Absolutely NO SMOKING ON VESSEL. Contact : Qualified applicants only, contact Emmett Doyle: Phone - 250-949-0220
ALL POSTINGS FROM www.niefs.net North Island Employment Foundations Society
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How many robins can you find?
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR DECEMBER
DECEMBEr 7: Trust Christmas Disbursements for children in care at the Wakas Hall, 9am-4pm. DECEMBEr 8: Elders catering @ 9am, Trust Committee meeting @ Elders Centre December 8: Blue Christmas Service. A time to remember for those thinking of loss at Christmas. Those who wish to do so are invited to bring a picture or memento of a loved one. 7 p.m. St. Columba Anglican United Church (Port Hardy) DECEMBEr 9: Emergency Social Support training at Wakas Hall for Emergency Management Committee ESS members @ Wakas Hall December 10: Hardy Bay Seniors annual Christmas Bake Sale, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the seniors centre, 9150 Granville St. December 11: Port Hardy Baptist Church benefits the Gazette Hamper Fund with its dinner and pre-release movie night. Dinner at 5 p.m., movie at 6 p.m., both for $4 and a non-perishable food item per person. DECEMBEr 12: Community Christmas Dinner @ Wakas Hall DECEMBEr 14: Pick up Social Assistance cheques @ Band Office DECEMBEr 15: Grad Coffee House: PHSS Multi-purpose Rm. 5 - 8:30 PM, Fundraiser for Dry Grad. DECEMBEr 16: Last day before Christmas Holidays for Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Staff. Offices closed until January 3, 2012. Last day of classes for School District #85. DECEMBEr 17: Christmas Hampers delivered between 9am-3pm. You must be home to receive your hamper. DECEMBEr 21: Movie night at Bob & Cathy Swain’s (tentative) 6pm DECEMBEr 25: Christmas Day DECEMBEr 27: Movie night at Bob & Cathy Swain’s (tentative) 6pm
JANUARY January 1: New Years Day January 3: Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw offices and schools re-open Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Nations Yo! News -06/12/11 Page 18