Program & Student Service Coordinator

The Oshki-Pimache-O-Win Education & Training Institute established by Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) offers post-secondary education and training programs.  We offer choice, accessibility, flexibility, opportunities and support services for our students.  Still in it early stages, the Institute is an innovative, independent institution that currently offers accredited courses in business, social services, website development and early childhood education.

We are looking for a highly, energetic and dynamic individual for the position of Program & Student Service Coordinator.  The successful candidate will have an exciting opportunity and responsibility in helping meet the learning needs of the members in Nishnawbe Aski Nation and increasing their educational growth and successes. 

Responsibilities:

• Develop proposals for current and new programs and projects;
• Consult with NAN communities, for required community based educational program needs, deliverable through the Institute and its partners; 
• Organize program scheduling, application and registration processes, and delivery logistics in order to enhance the educational experience of learners and the Institute’s image;
• Establish and reinforce positive working relationships with post-secondary educational institutions, to facilitate and enhance programs and services, to help build capacity within the communities;
• Manage the delivery of curriculum with excellence by adhering to program objectives and standards in the selection of course developers, instructors, and support workers, as well as the selection of program delivery materials;
• Source and review, coordinate or carry out curriculum design as necessary to meet the learning needs, within approved program plans and budgets;
• Coordination support and counseling to students during their independent learning phases, to encourage and promote success and program completion;
• Organize program scheduling, application and registration processes;
• Manage the delivery of curriculum by adhering to program objectives and standards.

Qualifications:

• Possess at minimum an undergraduate degree or an equivalent combination of education and related work experience in management;
• Track record of successful proposal writing, in particular to secure funding;
• Ability to research and identify programs, funding needs and opportunities;
• Project management skills, including team leadership, program and budgetary planning and reporting;
• Knowledge or experience in curriculum design and training needs assessment;
• Experience in any: student recruitment; administration of enrolment, registration or application processes; career counseling; adult education or training;
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships with First Nation communities and organizations;
• Possess excellent interpersonal, strong analytical and communications skills;
• Fluency in either Oji-Cree or Cree would be an asset.

If you are able, willing and confident that you can help increase the educational success of the people in Nishnawbe Aski Nation, we invite to submit your letter of interest and a resume, with three references, to:

Executive Director
Oshki-Pimache-O-Win Education & Training Institute
106 Centennial Square, 3rd Floor
Thunder Bay, ON  P7E 1H3
Phone:  (807) 626-1880
Fax:  (807) 622-1818

Closing date: Monday, May 29, 2006 at 12:00 pm

While we appreciate all applications for this position, only those who are selected for an interview will be contacted.

Lac Seul and Sioux Lookout residents are meeting this morning to light a sacred fire at the Pelican Falls Residential School Memorial Monument as part of the National Day of Healing and Reconciliation. Click here to see the photos from the Memorial Garden at Pelican Falls.

From the NDHR web site at http://www.ndhr.ca ...

The National Day of Healing and Reconciliation is a movement of people committed to moving forward collectively within our families, communities and across Canada for the purposes of healing and reconciliation.

Objectives

• To celebrate a positive, collective healing and reconciliation movement within our families, communities, churches and government on May 26th of each year.
• To educate ourselves and other Canadians about our collective history of government policies which impacted Aboriginal communities and other ethnic groups.
• To develop commemoration sites and to encourage communities to join in the National Day of Healing and Reconciliation.

from http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/05/26/healing-day060526.html

Residential schools are closed, but memories linger on healing day

Last Updated Fri, 26 May 2006 - CBC News

It has taken nearly fifty years for Muriel Betsina to gain self-confidence after the physical and emotional abuse she recalls at the native residential school she attended.

Aboriginal children were taken from their families and put in residential schools.

• INDEPTH: Aboriginal Canadians

There are still parts of her past she struggles with. "I didn't know what love is. I didn't know how to kiss my children, I didn't know," she told CBC News.

On Friday, groups across Canada marked a National Day of Healing and Reconciliation, a day officially recognized in the Northwest Territories, where Betsina lives, although not yet in much of the rest of the country.

• RELATED: CBC ARCHIVES: Canada's Residential Schools

Events include a gathering of elders at the Nisg'a Valley Health Authority in Aiyansh, B.C.; an all-day commemorative walk from Blue Quills Residential School to Saddle Lake Healing Lodge in the St. Paul, Alta., area; and a social tea at BTC Indian Health Services in North Battleford, Sask., among many others.

In Edmonton, where the movement for a national healing day has its roots, the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society was organizing a soup and bannock lunch.

• FROM NOV. 23, 2005: School abuse victims getting $1.9B

Taking back control

Joachim Bonnetrouge, project co-ordinator with the Residential School Society in Fort Providence, N.W.T, said he has seen a significant increase in the number of people, like Betsina, who take control of their lives and go through a healing process.

• FROM MARCH 11, 2003: Anglicans, Ottawa sign residential schools agreement

"People are beginning to become aware in realizing their role and responsibilities for their family and the communities," he said.

For generations, Indian and Inuit children were routinely taken from their homes to be educated in residential schools, many of them run for the government by church groups.

Countless youngsters endured strict discipline, separation from their families and the loss of traditional skills, language and culture. Some also suffered sexual abuse, a matter that has since become the focus of legal and arbitration proceedings.

Betsina said she hopes to pass on a lesson to her children and grandchildren on this day of healing.

"I know I can deal with it. I understand what I've been through, but I forgive ... and that's the hardest thing to ever do, is to forgive."

In Australia, a similar day was marked on Friday.

National Sorry Day commemorates the forced removal of thousands of Aborigine children from their families. They are widely referred to as Australia's stolen generations.

With a report from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Around A Virtual Campfire
Sparking The Furture of ICT in Ontario - an online conference

The Keewaytinook Okimakanak office in Sioux Lookout is one of four conference sites hosting the Community Learning Networks Ontario regional two day conference starting today, Thursday May 25 and running until Friday, May 26.

The four conference sites include:

• Sioux Lookout hosted by Keewaytinook Okimakanak (with support from FedNor and SLAAMB),
• Timmins hosted by NEONet,
• Ottawa hosted by HRSDC, and
• Toronto hosted by St. Christopher House and CRACIN.

The sites will be linked by the Kuhkenah Network (K-Net) using a variety of communication tools. Conference participants can join the virtual gathering using their computer (click here for the webcast site) or by registering to join the workshop sessions at one of the video conference sites. Click here to view some pictures from the virtual gathering.

In Sioux Lookout, the event is being held in the SLAAMB boardroom. Lyle Johnson (lylejohnson@knet.ca - 807-737-1135 x1387) is coordinating the local site.  Lyle is also monitoring the online chat session so everyone's questions and contributions are presented to the entire conference.

Visit http://cln-ontario.org for more information about this event and to join the online discussion forums.

The following PDF documents are available online -

• REGISTRATION FORM,
• FORUM AGENDA,
• WORKSHOP SESSIONS,
• HOW to ACCESS the Live Webcast session.

The Keewaytinook Okimakanak Research Institute (KORI) in Thunder Bay is seeking a qualified post-secondary student for a summer employment opportunity.

KORI has received funding from HRSDC to hire a Community Researcher. Preference will be given to candidates with a health science background; however, any post secondary student who is intending to return to full-time studies is welcomed to apply. Knowledge of Oji-Cree is an asset. Please contact brian.walmark@knet.ca or visit www.research.knet.ca for more information. The deadline for applications is June 7, 2006.

Eleven First Nation communities from Treaty 9 and Robinson Superior 1850 have joined forces to voice their disappointment at the Province’s failure to ensure consultation and accommodate the needs of regional First Nations.

THUNDER BAY, ON – Eleven First Nation communities from Treaty 9 and Robinson Superior 1850 have joined forces to voice their disappointment at the Province’s failure to ensure consultation and accommodate the needs of regional First Nations over the potential sale of Neenah Paper (current license holders to the Kenogami Forest) to Buchanan Forest Products.  To date, area First Nations have been excluded from all negotiations despite the fact that the Kenogami Forest Unit lies within jurisdiction of their communities and treaty lands.

“All we are asking is to be included as part of the negotiation process to discuss opportunities for our First Nations in the Kenogami Forest sale agreement. Our communities have pre-existing agreements with Neenah Paper which play a vital role in sustaining our local economies. It is not unwarranted that we would expect to be consulted on how a potential sale will impact or change those agreements. The current labour disputes also cause hardships and shortfalls in our First Nation economies and yet, it is clear that the demands of the Union are being given precedent over our needs and rights as First Nations.” said First Nation spokesperson Chief Veronica Waboose of Long Lake #58 First Nation.

The eleven impacted First Nations are urging the Ministry of Natural Resources to step forward and ensure that the jurisdiction of First Nations in this area is respected and that meaningful engagement with First Nations is made a conditional component of any future Sustainable Forest License.

“The lands of the Kenogami Forest have been used by our Aboriginal people for generations and are recognized in both the 1850 Robinson Superior Treaty and Treaty 9.” continues Chief Waboose. “These Aboriginal rights are not being respected today within the Kenogami Forest and we urge Minister Ramsey to recognize his government’s fiduciary responsibility, step forward and ensure that the concerns of all potentially impacted parties are heard on this issue.”

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NOTES TO THE EDITOR:

Kenogami Forest Facts Sheet

• Largest Sustainable Forest Licenses (SFL) in Ontario
• Several First Nations in or surrounding this SFL:
• Aroland First Nation
• Constance Lake First Nation
• Ginoogaming First Nation
• Lake Nipigon Ojibway
• Long Lake # 58 First Nation
• Ojiways of Lake Nipigon
• Pays Plat First Nation
• Pic Mobert First Nation
• Pic River First Nation
• Rocky Bay First Nation
• Sale of Neenah Paper will affect Aboriginal communities in the following ways:
• No consultation with First Nations about the impacts on their agreements with the license holder or changes to them
• No recognition of Section 20 of the License which talks about negotiations between the Minister, Neenah and First Nations on Aboriginal opportunities
• No recognition of Term and Condition 34 which in part guides forest management practices that talk(s) about sharing of economic benefits with First Nations
• No recognition of impacts on First Nations as the SLF holder is unionized and is governed by the collective bargaining agreement.
• No recognition of proposal for Shareholder Forests Licenses, which the Minister has supported and for which First Nations hope this will work to their advantage.
• No recognition of new certification code to be implemented by Ontario forest management plans with Forest Stewardship Council of Canada that include clause about Aboriginal communities
• No recognition of Forest Sector Prosperity Fund or the Forest Loan Guarantee Program which must include Aboriginal involvement.
• No recognition of infringements on any Aboriginal and Treaty Rights – i.e.: trapping.
• Formerly Kimberly-Clark, and now owned by Neenah Paper of Alpharetta Georgia, Neenah is responsible to the Ministry to fulfill certain terms and conditions.  These include:
• Meeting various wood supply commitment’s to area mills and over-lapping license holders
• Development of forest management plans and reports based on Ontario’s Forest Planning Manual and government guidelines, policies and procedures
• Commit funding to forestry renewal trust
• Herbicide and spraying issues
• Siliviculture standards and implementation
• Various reviews and auditing procedures
• Aboriginal Opportunities (Section 20)

Extract of Term & Condition 34 - Negotiations with Aboriginal Peoples

34. During the term of this approval, MNR District Managers shall conduct negotiations at the local level with Aboriginal peoples whose communities are situated in a management unit, in order to identify and implement ways of achieving a more equal participation by Aboriginal peoples in the benefits provided through forest management planning. These negotiations will include but are not limited to the following matters:

(a)    providing job opportunities and income associated with forest and mill operations in the vicinity of Aboriginal communities;
(b)   supplying wood to wood processing facilities such as sawmills in Aboriginal communities;
(c)    facilitation of Aboriginal third-party license negotiations with existing licensees where opportunities exist;
(d)   providing forest resource licenses to Aboriginal people where unallocated Crown timber exists close to reserves;
(e)    development of programs to provide jobs, training, and income for Aboriginal people in forest management operations through joint projects with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada; and
(f)     other forest resources that may be affected by forest management or which can be addressed in the forest management planning process.

MNR shall report on the progress of these ongoing negotiations district by district in the Provincial Annual Report on Forest Management that will be submitted to the Legislature.

Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen to Discuss Identity and Violence - Live Webcast May 24th

The Development Gateway Foundation is pleased to announce a special event and unique opportunity!

At 3:00pm on May 24th the World Bank's InfoShop, in collaboration with B-SPAN, will webcast a discussion by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen about his recent publication, "Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny".

Challenging the reductionist view that people of the world can be partitioned into civilizational categories that reinforce our differences, Sen draws on history, economics, science, literature and offers a vision of a world that can be made to move toward peace as firmly as it has spiraled in recent years toward violence and war. Dr. Sen's other books include "On Ethics and Economics", "Development as Freedom", and "The Argumentative Indian".
 
LIVE WEBCAST
 
The webcast will take place Wednesday May 24th from 3:00pm-4:30pm EST (Eastern Standard Time). At that time, you will be able to access the live webcast at http://webcast-ext.worldbank.org/streaming/live.ram. You will need RealPlayer installed on your computer to view this video. For complete information on how to download and install a free version of RealPlayer, please go to http://www.real.com/. 
 
EMAIL YOUR QUESTIONS FOR AMARTYA SEN
 
As members of the Development Gateway, you are invited to email your questions for Amartya Sen to dgContent@dgfoundation.org during his live presentation. The event moderator will select a sample of these questions to present to Amartya Sen during the live broadcast Q&A session. Please include your name, organization and country affiliation in your correspondence (these may be mentioned by the moderator if your question is selected).
 
MEMBER FORUM
 
Culture helps form identity and worldview. We are shaped by our cultures, and perceived differences can be perceived as threatening. What can be done to transcend these tensions and bring about a greater sense of shared identity and a common, life affirming destiny?  Please log in and share your replies on the Culture and Development dgCommunity at http://topics.developmentgateway.org/culture/discussion/showDiscussion.do~id=1522?intcmp=504
 
PRAISE FOR "IDENTITY & VIOLENCE"
 
"I am deeply impressed by power of Identity And Violence. Amartya Sen, one of the world's great thinkers, tells us how to go about building a more peaceful world.  I hope the book will be read by all." - Ted Turner
 
"The world's poor and dispossessed could have no more articulate or insightful a champion among economists than Amartya Sen. The United Nations, in its own development work, has benefited immensely from the wisdom and good sense of Professor Sen's views." - Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations
 
EVENT LOCATION
 
For those of you in or near Washington DC, the event will take place in the World Bank H Building - Eugene R. Black Auditorium, G Street Entrance (1914 G Street NW). All non-bank attendees must send an RSVP email to infoshopevents@worldbank.org in order to attend in person.
 
BIOS OF THE PRESENTERS
 
Amartya Sen, Professor, Harvard University. Amartya Sen has written several books including On Ethics and Economics, Development as Freedom, and The Argumentative Indian. Mr. Sen won the 1998 Nobel Prize in economics.  A professor at Harvard, Mr. Sen lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Cambridge, England.
 
Professor Sen will be Introduced by Ian Goldin, Vice President, External and UN Affairs, World Bank. Ian Goldin has been Vice President at the World Bank since May 2003. Previously, he was the Director of Development Policy. Prior to joining the Bank in February 2001, Dr. Goldin was the Chief Executive of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Principal Economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London, and Head of the Trade Program at the OECD Development Center in Paris.
 
ABOUT THE INFOSHOP
 
The InfoShop is the public information center and development bookstore of the World Bank.  It functions as the only publicly accessible space at headquarters, providing internal and external audiences access to over 6000 titles published by the World Bank, other international organizations, and other publishers on development issues.  It is a space where information and documents on World Bank development operations, economic data, and strategies, can be read easily and comfortably at workstations designed for public use.  In addition, the InfoShop hosts book launches, exhibits, seminars, receptions, and other community outreach events, and also carries videos, posters, CD-ROMs, and gift items. For more information, visit:
http://www.worldbank.org/infoshop
 
ABOUT B-SPAN
 
B-SPAN (http://info.worldbank.org/etools/BSPAN/index.asp) is an Internet-based broadcasting service that presents World Bank seminars, workshops, and conferences on a variety of sustainable development and poverty reduction issues.  B-SPAN streams events on the Internet, archives them on the  B-SPAN web site, offers them in their original unedited format, and provides indexing for quick access to specific speakers. B-SPAN's webcasts are free and available to anyone with access to the Internet. Users need only to download a free version of RealPlayer, a software that allows the playing of archived videos on a personal computer. For complete information on how to download and install RealPlayer, please go to http://www.real.com/. 
 
We look forward to your participation!
 
Best wishes,
 
Mike Pereira
Director, Global Online Communities
Development Gateway Foundation
1889 F Street NW
Washington DC 20006

From Globe and Mail - http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060522.PRENTICE22/TPStory/National

Ottawa looks to change Indian Act ....

Government - aboriginal leaders in talks on how to boost accountability to natives

BILL CURRY - POSTED ON 22/05/06

OTTAWA -- The federal government is consulting aboriginal leaders on how to replace the 1876 Indian Act and increase the accountability of chiefs, councillors and Ottawa to aboriginal citizens, says Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice.

Mr. Prentice said senior officials in his department have suggested that he bring in the "basic approach" of the controversial first nations governance act, which died in 2003 because aboriginals protested against what they said was a top-down approach that lacked consultation. In an interview, Mr. Prentice said transparency and governance issues are important, but he does not see a need to bring back that act, which was the last major attempt to update the Indian Act.

"Those are important things that we're going to have to work on," he said, but stressed that "there's no intention to do anything that does not involve full consultation with aboriginal people."

The governance act was billed as an interim option for bands that wished to move away from the antiquated Indian Act while they continued to negotiate full self-government agreements. It laid out minimum standards for bands regarding the conduct of elections and the type of information band governments should provide to their citizens. Mr. Prentice noted that in the past few years, there have been several acts, including the First Nations Land Management Act and the First Nations Fiscal and Statistical Management Act, that have addressed some of the concerns about governance.

"I think [the governance act has] been superseded by other events," he said. "But it contained provisions relating to the electoral process; it contained provisions relating to accountability; it contained other provisions relating to financial issues, if you will, financial codes and such. There's actually been some pretty significant developments since then in some of the legislation that was introduced in the last Parliament. And I think all of that needs to be considered.

"There needs to be an extensive consultation process with the [Assembly of First Nations] and with the other aboriginal organizations to move forward on those issues. I mean, they will clearly work best if there's a level of support, and what I hear in talking to first nation leaders is a desire to move forward with those kinds of initiatives themselves, so I think that we're making significant progress already," he said.

Mr. Prentice said his preference is to go back to what the Conservative Party proposed at its founding policy forum in 2004. The party called for separate legislation for each of the services Ottawa delivers to aboriginals, such as housing, education and health care.

Mr. Prentice pointed to the recent Auditor-General's report, which also called for legislation to spell out what services federal public servants should be delivering and what services aboriginals should expect.

"We have started already to move on that," Mr. Prentice said.

A briefing note to Mr. Prentice on changes to the Indian Act, obtained by The Globe and Mail through the Access to Information Act, suggests a piece-by-piece approach would be easier and more affordable than attempting to bring in "a new Indian Act." However, two other options are blanked out on the grounds that they contain advice to a minister.

Aroland First Nation will be hosting its 11th annual traditional pow-wow on June 3 and 4th.

All drums and dancers are welcome.

There will be rough camping by the lake available, and security will be provided.

For more information call Champ at 807-329-8686 or Rebecca at 329-1173.

See below for the May 23 NAN press release supporting the walkers.

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninnuwug band member, Mark Anderson arrived in Thunder Bay yesterday with the support of other walkers who are joining him along his protest / awareness journey to Toronto. Here Mark is taking a break and reading some of the messages of encouragement that he is receiving from his community and others along the way ...

Regular updates and new photos are being posted on the KI web site at http://bigtroutlake.firstnation.ca on a daily basis.

The struggle of First Nation people to protect their traditional lands and lifestyles is happening across the country.

++++++++++++++++

NAN supports efforts of walkers from Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug

     THUNDER BAY, ON, May 23 /CNW/ - Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) - a political organization representing 49 First Nation communities across two thirds of Ontario - supports the efforts of four walkers from Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug on their journey from Pickle Lake, ON to Queen's Park, Toronto, ON to raise awareness of ongoing mining disputes in their traditional territory.

     "The Government of Ontario has failed to implement consultation policies specifically outlined by the Supreme Court, while mining companies continue to explore and drill on traditional lands within James Bay Treaty 9 territory," said NAN Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler.

     Despite a community declared moratorium on resource development (October 2005) and Supreme Court of Canada rulings to consult and accommodate with First Nations prior to resource development, Platinex mining company received permission from the Government of Ontario to start drilling on Kitchnuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) traditional territory February 2006.

     The group of walkers - all from KI - are hoping to raise awareness of the failure of the Government of Ontario to update the Mining Act to include recent Supreme Court rulings, including Mikisew (November 2005), that resulted in a $10 billion lawsuit against KI for protecting traditional territory during a peaceful protest that stopped Platinex mining early March 2006.

     Mark T. Anderson, Darryl Sainnawap, Wallace Mosquito, and Dylan Morris began their journey to Queen's Park in Pickle Lake, ON May 9, 2006. The group that walks between 50 and 70km per day travelled through Thunder Bay May 21st and are currently in the Nipigon area. They expect to reach Toronto by June 21st - National Aboriginal Day - to bring their message to the Ontario Legislature.

     "We want our children and grandchildren to continue to use the lands and resources to pursue their usual vocations of hunting, trapping, and fishing," said Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug community member Mark T. Anderson who's leading the group to Toronto. "We want to protect the environment at the potential drilling/mining site plus the surrounding area which includes our Kitchnuhmaykoosib Lake."

     The $10 billion damage claim by Platinex is the largest ever against a First Nation and would take KI 200 years to pay. The case will be heard in Thunder Bay June 22, 2006.

     Platinex is hosting their Annual General Meeting at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Aurora, ON Wednesday May 24, 2006 at 11:00 a.m.

-30-

/For further information: please contact Jenna Young, Director of Communications, Nishnawbe Aski Nation, (807) 625-4952, (807) 628-3953 (cellular)/