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AFN update ...

A Communiqué from National Chief Phil Fontaine - A Call to Action on First Nations Poverty

March 2007

The Assembly of First Nations issues regular updates on the National Chief’s activities and work underway at the national office. More information can be found on the AFN’s website at www.afn.ca.

The second phase of our campaign -- Make Poverty History: The First Nations Plan for Creating Opportunity – was launched Friday, February, 23, on Parliament Hill. A Call to Action Against First Nations Poverty was attended by Members of Parliament, Senators, and representatives from national and international humanitarian organizations. Buzz Hargrove, President of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) was our special guest speaker and announced the support of the entire Canadian labour movement for the campaign.

We gathered in solidarity to show Canadians, and the global community, that we will no longer tolerate the abject levels of poverty facing too many of our First Nations people. The AFN also launched a new report, The $9 Billion Myth Exposed: Why First Nations Poverty Endures. It can be found on our main website at www.afn.ca.

Regional Chief Angus Toulouse, AFN Executive Portfolio holder for Eliminating Poverty, told the gathering that First Nations have been subject to decades of Canadian government policies aimed at creating dependence, instead of supporting empowerment. Poverty endures because First Nations are not treated fairly in Canada’s fiscal framework.

Canadians have been told that $9.1 billion is spent every year on First Nations. In fact, a maximum of $5.4 billion is spent on First Nations – that is, only 60% of the amount reported by Minister Prentice. His department spends up to $600 million or 11% on overhead alone. Even more revealing is that the total budget of Indian and Northern Affairs represents only 0.004% of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product.

Human Rights Complaint on Child Welfare

That same day, February 23rd, the AFN and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society (FNCFCS) filed a complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Commission in regard to discriminatory treatment against First Nations child welfare agencies. I was joined by Cindy Blackstock, FNCFCS executive director, and FSIN Vice Chief Guy Lonechild, since the human rights complaint originated from the Ocean Man First Nation in Saskatchewan.

During our press conference, I declared that it is a national disgrace for the Canadian government to be aware of more than 27,000 First Nations children in state care without taking the action needed to address prevention and capacity of existing First Nations agencies. Rational appeals to successive federal governments have been ignored. After years of research that confirm the growing numbers of our children in care, as well as the potential solutions to this crisis, we had no choice but to appeal to the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

The federal government is fully aware that I would rather negotiate than litigate. But we have the right to determine what is best for the future of our children. Our children must have an equal opportunity to grow-up with their families, in their communities, and in their culture. No First Nation child should have to forgo this opportunity as a result of poverty or an inability to access basic services.

2007 Federal Budget

The 2007 federal budget will be tabled in the House of Commons on Monday, March 19th. The AFN presented its Pre-Budget Submission to the Finance Committee back on September 19th. Entitled “Securing Our Future”, we highlighted the need for sustainable funding solutions and structural change in order to eliminate poverty. I publicly stated in September that the growing number of First Nations children being placed in child welfare systems is the single most deplorable example of the increasing gap in poverty: “We face the prospect of losing yet another generation of children as they are taken away from their families, who are too poor to take care of them ... This is a tragedy that is shocking and shameful for all Canadians.”

Our pre-budget submission is posted on the AFN website, along with my recent speeches to the International Congress on Ethics; the AFN Water and Housing Forum; and the Economic Club of Toronto, where I highlighted the growing success of the AFN’s Corporate Challenge.

My next communiqué will include reaction to the 2007 Budget.

Meegwetch!

Assembly of First Nations, 473 Albert Street, Suite 810, Ottawa, Ontario K1R 5B4 Tel: (613) 241-6789 Toll-free: 1-866-869-6789 Fax: (613) 241-5808 www.afn.ca

Cancer Care Ontario is excited to inform you that the Aboriginal Tobacco Strategy will be hosting an Aboriginal Youth Summit on March 29-31st, 2007.

DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATIONS is MARCH 9.

Click here to view the conference poster.

We are able to sponsor 80 youth (ages 14 to 20) in travel, accommodation and meals to participate in the summit. Youth who are interested in receiving a sponsorship will need to apply by March 9, 2007. If you are interested in applying for sponsorship or if you are interested in attending but do not require a sponsorship please visit www.tobaccowise.com.

Click here for the registration form 

All the information about the Youth Summit they can access from our website at www.tobacco.wise

Contact information:

Lois White
Aboriginal Cancer Care Unit
Cancer Care Ontario
505 University Ave., Toronto ON   M5G 1X3
Phone 416-971-9800 ext. 3595
Fax:  416-971-6888
Lois.White@cancercare.on.ca or
Patricia.Elliott@cancercare.on.ca
http://www.tobaccowise.com

Two researchers from the University of Manitoba were in Sioux Lookout this week meeting with different Aboriginal organizations and making arrangements for the upcoming roundtable workshop on "Connectivity in Aboriginal Communities - Increasing Aboriginal Social Capital".

Any community with video conferencing is invited to attend the Sioux Lookout roundtable. Click here to see the invitation poster

INCREASING ABORIGINAL SOCIAL CAPITAL

We would like to invite you to participate in a roundtable discussion about the impacts of connectivity and social capital in Aboriginal communities in Canada.  Our goal is to produce a document that reflects the potential of connectivity and information communication technology in relation to social capital in Aboriginal communities in Canada.  We will be holding roundtable meetings in various communities across Canada for interested parties to share their experiences.

Study objectives:

1. Review the theory of social capital from as it applies from to Aboriginal people in Canada;
2. Analyze current debates on social capital as it applies to building capacity in Aboriginal communities and institutions, and to how it relates to improvement in social, economic and health outcomes;
3. Assess the potential and opportunities afforded by information and communication technology, and the issues and concerns that this presents for Aboriginal, federal and provincial governments;
4. Research the roles that this technology can and does play in the formation of social capital in Aboriginal communities.

Study benefits:

1. Provide the opportunity for participants to network with other individuals involved in ICT and connectivity in Aboriginal communities, both online and in person;
2. Share the results by providing all participants with the final report;
3. Support the understanding of social capital and increase awareness of the impact of social capital and information and communication technology in Aboriginal communities;
4. Identify potential applications that contribute to Aboriginal social capital, through both direct and indirect means.

To participate please contact:

Heather Henley
Research Coordinator
Faculty of Human Ecology
University of Manitoba
204 474 7142
henley2@cc.umanitoba.ca

Please RSVP for catering purposes.

Another way to participate in this research and share your story about "Connectivity in Aboriginal Communities - Increasing Aboriginal Social Capital" is to go online and join the discussion forum to learn about this important topic. Visit http://meeting.knet.ca/moodle/course/view.php?id=86 for more information and http://meeting.knet.ca/moodle/mod/forum/view.php?id=2347 to join the discussions set up for this research project.

NAN press release ....

NAN Member Receives Business Award

THUNDER BAY, ON, Feb. 28 - Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler together with Minister for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Harinder Takhar, POA Educational Foundation Chairman Aditya Jha, and Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund (NADF) president Harvey Yesno, awarded contest winner Darcy Kejick with $15,000 toward a business plan during an awards event today at Queen's Park.

Darcy Kejick from North Spirit Lake First Nation (one of NAN's 49 Ontario First Nation communities) received the award for a business plan submitted following his participation in Project Beyshick 2006 - an annual one week youth job-shadowing program focused on entrepreneurship among First Nation youth.

The inaugural award recognizes the participant who prepares the most feasible professional business or career plan.

"A quite intensive schedule was prepared for me to spend my time within the various areas of the bank, job-shadowing and meeting important people who work in each area," said Kejick who job-shadowed HSBC Senior Vice President Geoff Hoy August 2006. "The program is a real eye-opener if you're interested in venturing into the world of business or even if you're curious about it."

Kejick's business plan for "North Spirit Foods" - a grocery store in his First Nation community located northwest of Sioux Lookout - was one of 10 submitted by Project Beyshick 2006 participants.

"The grocery store will provide North Spirit Lake First Nation with all grocery needs, including the much needed diet of dairy and fresh produce," said Kejick. "The store will also meet the needs of those individuals with special dietary needs, diabetes for example."

Kejick expects building materials to arrive in North Spirit Lake mid March via winter road and building will begin this Spring.

Project Beyshick was developed by POA Educational Foundation and Nishnawbe Aski Nation in 2005. NAN youth are partnered with Toronto business executives in their area of interest - job-shadowing for one week learning through mentorship and being part of the staff.

Some of the businesses involved in the past two years include FedEx, TV Ontario, Globe and Mail, HSBC, Trillium Hospital, Canada Trust, ICICI Bank, Bell Canada, GlobalMaxx Technologies, and AMJ Campbell Van Lines.

"Project Beyshick has been an important step in promoting business skills among the NAN youth who've taken part, but it doesn't end there. The youth who've taken part in the job-shadowing program in the past two years are the best examples of the program and its benefits," said NAN Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler. "The recognition of Darcy's business plan and the option for other candidates to pursue other support to develop their business plans, are perfect examples of how this experience can open up realistic opportunities for success at the community level."

"Project Beyshick serves as a platform for success in that it helps to enhance leaders with the training and financial backing to succeed," said POA Chairman Aditya Jha. "This inaugural award brings us closer to our vision of a social venture fund for First Nation people."

Nishnawbe Aski Nation is an Aboriginal political organization representing 49 First Nation communities within James Bay Treaty 9 and Ontario First Nations part of Treaty 5 - an area spanning two-thirds of Ontario with a total approximate population of 45,000 members on and off reserve.

POA Educational Foundation is a charitable foundation aiming to provide support for educational and entrepreneurial initiatives that target regions with specific challenges and pressing needs.

For further information: Jenna Young, Director of Communications, Nishnawbe Aski Nation, (807) 625-4952, (807) 628-3953 (cellular); Lee Arbon, Hyperactive Communications, (905) 278-5500 ext. 225

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From the Toronto Star ...

Native entrepreneur tries food for thought - Winning business plan pits produce against rampant diabetes

Mar 08, 2007 - Prithi Yelaja - Staff Reporter

Fresh fruits and vegetables are scarce commodities in the remote northern community Darcy Kejick calls home.

The lack of healthy food choices, along with a lack of exercise, help explain why diabetes is rampant in North Spirit Lake, a tiny Nishnawbe Aski Nation community about 600 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay.

That's why Kejick plans to use the $15,000 prize he collected as the winner of a business plan competition – sponsored by a South Asian entrepreneur in Toronto – to open a new grocery store in his hometown of about 300. His store would be stocked with fresh produce, dairy, bread and organic products, all to encourage fellow residents to eat healthier.

The number of people with diabetes in Ontario doubled between 1995 and 2005. Aboriginal people are among those at highest risk because of diet and lifestyle, according to a new Toronto study.

Kejick, 34, knows this first-hand.

"I'm a diabetic myself. You could say it's an epidemic on the reserve, so I'm just trying to do my part to curb the problem," says Kejick, whose parents are also both diabetic.

For 10 months of the year, fresh produce has to be flown in from Red Lake, near the Manitoba border. The lack of a store with adequate refrigeration and cooling facilities in North Spirit Lake means those supplies go fast.

Of the two existing stores, one is run out of someone's bedroom, the other is "more like a shed," says Kejick.

"Both tend to stock a lot of junk food and stuff you can store for a long time, like canned items or stuff you can throw in the microwave and heat up fast." Frozen french fries are a big seller.

Kejick picked up his award, sponsored by the POA Educational Foundation, at an elegant high-tea ceremony at Queen's Park this week.

"The only route for First Nations people to achieve prosperity is entrepreneurship," says Aditya Jha, 50, the Toronto businessman who started the foundation along with his two partners, who prefer to stay out of the limelight, as a way to uplift aboriginal people. (POA represents the initials of the partners' first names.)

"If I can do it, they can do it. In Canada, no community gets respect until they make money in a mainstream business," says the straight-talking Jha.

He should know. He immigrated to Canada from India via Singapore in 1994 and became a multi-millionaire when he and his partners sold their software company to Sun Microsystems in 2001, for a reported $100 million (U.S.)

Jha was alerted to the plight of Canada's aboriginal people when he heard Stan Beardy, grand chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, speak at a black tie dinner in 2005.

Since then, the foundation has created a $100,000 endowment fund at Trent University for aboriginal students.

He has also announced plans to raise $5 million to establish an "incubation centre" at Ryerson University to foster aboriginal entrepreneurship, and kick-started it with his own $500,000 donation.

Kejick was part of a mentoring program, Project Beyshick, now in its third year, which pairs a dozen or more native people with senior executives at large Toronto companies. Participants in that program were eligible to take part in the business plan competition.

For a week last summer, Kejick job-shadowed Geoff Hoy, a senior vice-president at HSBC Bank in Toronto.

Kejick's new store, next to the gas station he operates in North Spirit Lake, is slated to be open for business by September, with the help of a bank loan.

"He's already a successful guy, so he'll do well," says Jha. "The promised land is here for him to grab."

Equay-wuk (Women’s Group) is providing 40 area health and social service organizations with cross-cultural sensitivity training materials.  The mail-out will include:

1. “Menonakachihewaywin Natamakewin (Better Care Giving Project)” Training Facilitator’s Manual
    
2. “A Guide for Professional Caregivers:  Self-Advocation for First Nations Clients” and
    
3. a Workshop Support CD.

Equay-wuk (Women’s Group) has now completed the Menonakachihewaywin Project, a cross-cultural sensitivity training project to assist frontline “professional caregivers” who interact with aboriginal clients in a variety of settings.  The Menonakachihewaywin Project was funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) under the OTF Granting Priority of "Healthier Ontarians".

An earlier project conducted in 1998/99 by Equay-wuk (Women’s Group) produced “A Guide for Professional Caregivers – Self-Advocation for First Nations Clients”, which is a self-help manual that was distributed to local facilities.  The 2004 Menonakachihewaywin Project has revised the Manual and Guide through a combination of research, Elder interviews, caregiver working group meetings and a cross-cultural training workshop.

Equay-wuk (Women’s Group) is an aboriginal women’s organization serving women, youth and families who reside within Northwestern Ontario First Nation communities.  It is a non-profit, provincially incorporated (1989) organization with charitable status serving aboriginal people from 31 First Nation communities in Northwestern Ontario.  Equay-wuk (Women’s Group) is independent from any other women’s group in Ontario.  (Website: www.equaywuk.ca)

For more information about this, Contact:

Felicia Waboose,
Program Director
Equay-wuk (Women’s Group)
Tel: (807) 737-2214
Fax: (807) 737-2699
email: equaywuk@nwconx.net

APTN press release ....

Aboriginal Icon: An APTN Singing Contest 

February 27, 2007

The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network is hosting a singing contest for Aboriginal people on their weekly news magazine, Contact. The contest is called "Aboriginal Icon" and they are accepting submissions as we speak.

On April 4th APTN is pleased to announce a special edition of Contact: Aboriginal Icon

If you are between the ages of 18-28 and think you have the talent to wow our judges, please send in audition tape along with your name, age, phone, number, and address to:
339 Portage Ave.
Winnipeg MB
R3B 2C3
Attn: Contact - Aboriginal Icon

The deadline for admission is March 23rd, 4 pm eastern standard time and don't forget to self-identify if you are First Nations, Inuk, or Metis.

The top three contestants will be contacted by telephone and flown to Winnipeg to perform Live across the nation on Contact April 4th 2007.

Audience members can send an email or call in to vote for their favorite finalist.

The Grand Prize winner will have their song professionally recorded in studio with Strong Front Productions and will be flown to Toronto to compete in the final auditions for Canadian Idol. Prizes will also be awarded to the second and third prize winners.

So send in your video tapes, and try out for the first ever Aboriginal Icon!

DISCLAIMER: Please be prepared to sing an original song on-air. Cover songs are acceptable for the audition tape but may not be sung for the on-air competition due to copyright issues.

The complete list of Rules & Regulations is available here:
www.aptn.ca/images/stories/Contact/abicon2007.pdf

For more information, please contact Dawn Isaac:

Dawn Isaac
Researcher/Writer, News & Current Affairs
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
P: 204.947.9331 ext. 481
E: contact@aptn.ca

Visit the Aboriginal Circle web site at http://aboriginalsportcircle.ca/main/main.html

The Aboriginal Sport Circle is Canada’s national voice for Aboriginal sport, which brings together the interests of First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples. Established in 1995, the Aboriginal Sport Circle was created through a national consensus-building process, in response to the need for more accessible and equitable sport and recreation opportunities for Aboriginal peoples.

The Aboriginal Sport Circle is hosting information sessions on the Aboriginal Coach Manual

The Aboriginal Sport Circle will deliver training and educational workshops about the ACM to be presented to National Sport Organizations (NSO), Multi-Sport Organizations (MSO), Recreational Organizations, and other interested Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal organizations. READ MORE >>

Read More about Coaching Development at http://aboriginalsportcircle.ca/main/coachingcertification.html

and about the Aboriginal Coaching Manual at http://aboriginalsportcircle.ca/main/acm.html

INAC press release ....

Video Vignettes: Aboriginal Success Stories from Across Canada

February 26, 2007

These short 3-minute videos show First Nations improving the quality of life for their members.

Look and listen to these stories of success in First Nations communities. Whether it's about education, economic development or governance, they all have the same goal - improving the quality of life of First Nations people across Canada. These short 3-minute videos show First Nations improving the quality of life for their members.

Lac La Ronge

Lac La Ronge Indian Band is empowering its members by creating the opportunity for private home ownership in this First Nation. Comfortable, safe, energy-efficient homes are now a dream come true in this Saskatchewan Cree community.

Wikwemikong

The Wikwemikong Development Commission helps community members develop and realize economic opportunities from construction to modern communications, while keeping touch with their traditional values.

Westbank

In 2003, the Westbank First Nation signed a historic self-government agreement giving them the tools to make decisions over land, resources, culture and much more. See how this First Nations government is building a better quality of life for its members.

"Reclaiming Our Gifts & Glories to Share with our Families"

On March 17th & 18th, the NAN Women’s Council is hosting a “Reclaiming our Past Glories & Gifts to Share with our Families” Conference in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The purpose of this conference is to give First Nations Women from the NAN Communities an opportunity to participate, network, and to build capacity around Crisis Managment, Volunteerism, and Consensus Building. In order to register for this conference, First Nations Women from the NAN communities must send a letter of interest, explaining the following:

• Where you are from?
• Why you want to come?
• What type of volunteering you do in the community or why you would like to volunteer in the community?
• What your thoughts and feelings are on crisis prevention?
• What you feel you can do as a woman for your community.

For more information, and to receive a registration form, please contact Christine Simard or Colleen Berry at 1-800-465-9952 or via email at  csimard@nan.on.ca or cberry@nan.on.ca.