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INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY
12 AUGUST 2007

The theme for the 2007 commemoration of International Youth Day is:

BE SEEN, BE HEARD: YOUTH PARTICIPATION FOR DEVELOPMENT

International Youth Day gives the world an opportunity to recognize the potential of youth, to celebrate their achievements, and plan for ways to better engage young people to successfully take action for development. It presents a unique opportunity for all stakeholders to rally together to ensure that young people are included in global, national and local affairs and decision-making.

www.un.org/youth

OFNYPC calls for all Ontario First Nations youth to organize and participate in community events to honor the youth of all Nations.

For more information, please contact Laura Calm Wind at 1-807-626-9339 laura@coo.org or Nick Mainville Jr. OFNYPC Communications at  807-274-7538

www.chiefs-of-ontario.org/youth

The deadline of August 31 is for presenters on Aboriginal Education to get their proposals into the conference organizers. For more information visit http://www.theconferenceplanner.ca/ABForum

David Gordon, who is currently a Councillor for the Municipality of the Town of Sioux Lookout, and is a former Chief of the Lac Seul First Nation, will seek the nomination to represent the provincial liberal party in the Kenora Rainy River Riding.

David promises to change the underpriviliged representation of our riding by promoting the citizens priorities and working with the provincial government to ensure our voice is heard at Queen's Park.  David lives in the riding and understands the peoples issues and priorities.

To help, David asks for your support by  purchasing a liberal party membership by August 08, 2007 at 3 p.m, or through www.ontarioliberal.com website by 4 p.m.  You will need to use a credit card for purchase on the website.  To buy the membership, it will cost $10.00.

Voting day is August 18, 2007.  Remember you will need to be a liberal member to vote for David.

In Sioux Lookout, for further information, to purchase a membership, or have someone visit you , please call Linda Nothing-Chaplin at 737 3091, or 737 9071.

David Gordon's phone number is 737 2535.

From the Toronto Star ...

Touring through a troubled past
Sheila Dabu - Living Reporter - Aug 06, 2007

Star Video: Geronimo Henry's struggle to survive ... Click here to watch the video

Geronimo Henry now guides visitors through his former residential school. But the pain and memories linger still

BRANTFORD–He could be mistaken for Elvis, with his jet-black pompadour and sideburns, were it not for the number 48 tattooed on his right hand.

Children in residential schools were assigned numbers to keep track of them. Getting a tattoo of his number was Geronimo Henry's own idea.

Henry, a 70-year-old retired Elvis impersonator from the Six Nations reserve near Brantford, says without the King of Rock'n'Roll's music, he couldn't have survived jail time, divorce and addiction after struggling with undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) all his life.

"Elvis showed kids what people can do," he says. "You can be somebody if you try."

On a steamy afternoon , Henry is standing in front of the "Mush Hole," the name students gave the Mohawk Institute because of the oatmeal they ate for breakfast.

"If you got that mush and threw it against the wall, it would stick on there," he says with a laugh.

The three-storey, 19th-century residential school closed in 1970 and today forms part of the Woodland Cultural Centre, a museum showcasing aboriginal art.

Now an occasional tour guide at the Mohawk Institute, Henry has stopped going to counselling but says he has many of the symptoms of "complex PTSD."

It's identified by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation as specific to aboriginal people resulting from years of historical trauma – including residential schools – which was passed down from generation to generation.

Henry married a former classmate but they never spoke of what happened there. He also used alcohol to numb the pain. Eventually, Henry says, his dysfunction contributed to the collapse of his marriage and damaged their six children.

Henry entered the school at age 5 1/2 and left at 16. He says he "didn't know any different."

"That's quite a few years, 25, 30 years being a drunk. End up in jail. Fighting. Getting beat up. Trying to take other women," he admits.

Henry leads the way inside the former school. At the headmaster's office, he pauses.

"If these walls could talk . . .

If indeed they could, they might well tell the now-familiar stories of humiliation, abuse and stolen childhoods.

"They'd deny us our schooling," he says, telling of how the boys got up at 6 a.m. to do chores at the chicken coop and the pigpen, feed the horses and cattle, and milk the cows. Then there were the 60 tonnes of coal that arrived by rail each fall. The boys took turns and spent half the day unloading the shipment within a week. Meanwhile, the girls had to cook and clean.

Some academics and aboriginal advocacy groups have classified this as a form of child labour.

Henry turns left into the main hallway and stops in what used to be the infirmary.

"When I was here, all you got was a pair of shoes and a pair of pants and a shirt," he says. "No undershorts."

Henry makes his way to the third-floor dormitory for boys and recounts a puzzling incident.

"One time, I don't know what happened, I lost my mind," he says.

"I guess there used to be a door here or a cubby hole. And in the morning, I was in there. I wouldn't come out for some reason. I don't know what's happened. I went crazy," he continues.

"Or maybe I got sexually abused. I don't know. Why did I go in there during the night and then in the morning, I wouldn't come out?"

Years later, another classmate told him of being sexually abused in that same room. Curious to know if there were more suffering like him, Henry started a group for survivors called the Lost Generation in 1997. He found 800 of them.

On the way to the basement, Henry stops.

"When my program was running, this person came up to me and she says, 'You remember where that vegetable room was? That's where I got sexually abused in there.'

In the dark, damp corridors, near the storage rooms and the playroom, Henry says he heard this was where the school master "was getting after some girl, trying to feel her up or somethin' and she was just fighting until her sister came out and started kicking him."

The tour over, Henry crosses the parking lot and heads toward the back of the school. He examines the red brick wall and runs his fingers over the carved initials of former students. R.B., ALBERT, G.M., but no G.H. Henry didn't carve his initials here.

"We'd even start crying around here," he says, running his fingers over the faded letters. "There's all memories along the wall."

Now, Henry and tens of thousands of survivors await compensation after a recent court-approved $1.9 billion settlement.

Henry helped kick-start the lawsuit for the Six Nations. And although he has accepted the settlement, Henry says no amount of money can erase what happened to him or any of the other survivors.

"I don't think you forget those years . . . It's like scars on your heart," he says, "Once those scars are there, they can't ever be healed up completely. They'll always leave a mark there."

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For more information, contact the Aboriginal Healing Foundation 1-888-725-8886, online at http://ahf.ca, and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 416-535-8501, http://camh.net

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Facts about post-traumatic stress disorder

Most Canadians associate post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD, with the trauma of war.

Yet it is estimated 2.5 million Canadians, not all of whom have not been engaged in military combat, will suffer from PTSD in their lifetime.

Although there is no known cure for PTSD, antidepressants and cognitive therapy are used to treat the symptoms, which include anxiety, anger, flashbacks and depression.

If left untreated, severe cases of PTSD can lead to suicide.

This is the second installment in a three-part series in which the Star's Sheila Dabu looks at the journey of three PTSD survivors and how they're coping with an illness some label a "silent killer."

"We are one with the land - A History of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug" is now available. It is being sold for $50 a copy from the KI band office in Big Trout Lake as well as from the IFNA office in Sioux Lookout.

From The Belleville Intelligencer ...

Tight budget frustrates aboriginal school
Samantha Craggs - Osprey News Network - August 02, 2007

A few feet from Karihwakeron Tim Thompson's desk is an image of what could be.

Laid out in an architect's drawing is the future for First Nations Technical Institute (FNTI). The campus building, the FNTI president and CAO hopes, will be constructed at a cost of $15 million, part of a $50-million bayside project on the reserve that includes a hotel and conference centre. But some days, it seems farther and farther away.

Now in its 22nd year, FNTI offers seven core post-secondary courses from its current building, which is six portables tied together with some office space tacked onto it. The institute plans to expand to 11 courses this fall, and 400 students are enrolled, up from 343 last year.

But as fall looms, Thompson said, FNTI is wondering how it can be done on the shoestring budget afforded by the federal and provincial governments. For the new environmental technology program, Thompson said, FNTI is receiving $18,000. For its Mohawk immersion program, it received $11,000.

"How can you operate a program with that?" he said. "How do you hire a teacher?"

At issue, Thompson said, is a "seriously flawed" funding formula that sees FNTI students get the equivalent of one-fifth what post-secondary students at mainstream institutions get. FNTI has no full-time teaching staff and lacks the full per-student funding enjoyed by its mainstream counterparts. Ontario's eight aboriginal post-secondary institutions operate out of a $2.58-million provincial budget, he said.

"We've been able to thrive and succeed despite these inadequacies," he said. "But year after year, it becomes ridiculous. It belies the government to show they care about these students."

FNTI wrote Chris Bentley, minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, in February asking to meet with him. So far, Thompson said, there has been no response. The province says aboriginal education is a federal responsibility, he said, while the federal government points back to the province, saying the Indian Act says nothing about post-secondary education. In a media release this week, Councillor Blaine Loft from the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte called Bentley's lack of response "issue avoidance."

FNTI is at the point where it may have to delay its new programs, Thompson said. Operating them would put the school in "serious debt," he said. Political talk of empowering aboriginal communities and decreasing dependence through education, he said, sometimes feels like lip service.

"We haven't had to cut programs yet, and I hope it doesn't get to that," he said. "We have a huge demand. We have a huge potential for growth. It just doesn't make sense that you would hesitate to invest in our success."

Assembly of First Nations Bulletin

A Communiqué from National Chief Phil Fontaine
July 31, 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 at www.afn.ca.

28th AFN Annual General Assembly a Huge Success

On July 10-12, 2007 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the Assembly of First Nations concluded what many Chiefs in attendance called the most productive and constructive Annual General Assembly ever held.

AFN Regional Chief Rick Simon (Nova Scotia / Newfoundland), along with the Atlantic leadership are to be commended for their outstanding efforts as hosts for our gathering. I want to personally extend a thank you to all who dedicated their time and energy into making the 28th AFN AGA a huge success.

Chiefs are to be congratulated on passing 32 resolutions on a broad range of issues important to First Nations. These resolutions provide the AFN with a strong mandate for the year ahead, setting out concrete and practical plans for our work together on behalf of First Nations citizens.

Some examples of the work approved in resolutions:

• A clear framework for moving forward on the Recognition and Implementation of First Nations Governments that speaks to achieving reconciliation, and supporting it with structural change and sustainable economies. This includes a commitment to coordination and national unity to ensure that all of our activities make progress towards these fundamental objectives.
• An important expression of Chiefs’ intentions for follow-up to the National Day of Action to ensure that we maintain the momentum that has been established through that historic event.
• Strong statements about the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, putting an end to racism, support for our Veterans and protecting First Nations rights.
• Excellent strategies for ongoing work in areas such as First Nations languages, health, education, housing, water management, resource revenue sharing, environment, economic development and human resource development.
• Timely direction on key files, such as the development of the new specific claims process, changes to the Fisheries Act, and our ongoing work on behalf of residential school survivors.
• Several expressions of support for regional and local initiatives and the efforts of individuals to improve the lives of First Nations people.
• And direction to continue the AFN’s work on internal renewal.

In all, the Chiefs support for changes to the resolutions process is an obvious commitment to making this process work. As we continue to improve the function of the AFN, we look forward to support from Chiefs for even better results.

Our thanks to all.

AFN Executive Portfolio Changes

At the recent AFN Executive meeting in Halifax, I announced a few changes in portfolios and that a new position of Vice Chair for the AFN Executive Committee would be created. After looking into this, in terms of authority as National Chief and structure of the AFN, I am pleased to announce the appointment of

Regional Chief Rick Simon as the Executive Committee Vice Chair effective immediately. Additional portfolio changes include:

• Regional Chief Bill Erasmus will replace Regional Chief Rick Simon as chairperson for the AFN Finance Committee.
• Regional Chief Ghislain Picard will replace Regional Chief Rick Simon as chairperson for the International file. Regional Chief Wilton Littlechild will co-chair on the International file.
• Regional Chief Rick Simon will co-chair the Economic Development file with Regional Chief Wilton Littlechild remaining as Chairperson for Economic Development.
• Regional Chief Rick Simon will be the sole chairperson for the AFN Renewal Commission as part of the responsibility as Vice Chair for the Executive committee.
• Regional Chief Wilton Littlechild is replacing Regional Chief Rick Simon as a member of the AFN Finance Committee.
• Regional Chief Rick Simon as Vice Chair for the Executive Committee will be ex-officio to all portfolios within the AFN structure which is the same as the National Chief.

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Update

Within weeks, the United Nations General Assembly must make a decision on the long awaited and urgently needed UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The international community will move ahead with final adoption as has been urged by Indigenous peoples and their supporters worldwide, or adoption of the Declaration will once again be delayed due to the demands of a small, yet vocal group of states being lead by Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Australia.

First Nations communities and citizens are encouraged to write to the president of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Please take this opportunity to support the Declaration.

More than 14,000 individuals and organizations have already signed a global petition hosted by Amnesty International Canada in support of the Declaration.

If you haven't already done so, please add your name and encourage many others to do so.

The petition, in English and French, can be found at:

http://www.amnesty.ca/ip_un_petition/UN_indigenous_rights_petition.php (English)

Meegwetch!

Assembly of First Nations, 473 Albert Street, Suite 810, Ottawa, Ontario K1R5B4 Tel: (613) 241-6789 Toll-free: 1-866-869-6789 Fax: (613) 241-5808 www.afn.ca

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The Aboriginal Committee's International Spectre
The Hill Times - Embassy, August 1st, 2007 - EDITORIAL

There was really no good reason for the Conservatives on the aboriginal affairs committee to come to Parliament Hill last week, unless they thought the opposition members wouldn't show up. Or maybe their presence had more to do with something else: the looming possibility that Canada is facing some embarrassment at the UN because of the Harper government's stand on a declaration that affects 375 million of the world's indigenous peoples–and their non-indigenous neighbours.

In any case, the unexpected appearance of the aboriginal affairs committee for a hasty vote on Bill C-44 was a mid-summer puzzle.

The three Tory committee members and the chair who called the meeting for the purpose of having a vote on Bill C-44 must have known that the vote would fail. More than a month ago, a majority of members from the same committee voted to put forward a motion to suspend committee meetings while it consulted with Canada's aboriginal communities over the bill's impact, though the House must still give its assent. They did this not because they were stalling or playing politics, but because Canada's aboriginal leaders, who are uneasy about the bill, asked them to.

So last week's vote, to no one's surprise, nullified the purpose of the unscheduled summer recess meeting. The result: Conservatives four to Opposition seven. Why did the government bother?

First, there's the problem of Bill C-44 itself and the ongoing debate over the way individual rights can sometimes undermine broader collective rights. And then there's the gathering storm over an international issue on which the Harper government is taking a lot of criticism, but not offering much of a defence for its actions.

Bill C-44 seeks to apply Canada's Trudeau-era human rights laws to Canada's native communities. On the surface that seems like a good thing. But aboriginal leaders have repeatedly told the committee they are worried about the way the Charter's individual rights will work in communities that are structured around traditional, collective rights.

"In a bid to push ahead with this legislation, the Conservatives have stated that the bill will help individuals seek redress against band councils. This portrays the band councils as corrupt and engaging in bully tactics, and plays into the perception among Conservatives that the councils oppress their people," wrote Cree author and columnist Doug Cuthand in The Saskatoon Star Phoenix last Friday.

For all of the noise it made, last week's committee appearance failed on two counts. It failed to change the committee's position on consultation. And it failed–if that was its intent–to run some kind of interference for the problem the Harper government is facing at the United Nations. If anything, it brought the UN problem to the foreground by causing people who attended the committee meeting to wonder if the issues were linked.

The temperature has been rising lately over Canada's refusal to sign the UN's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Paul Martin government had put some effort into drafting the declaration, which has been accepted by most of the world's nations, with a few notable exceptions. But those exceptions are formidable.

The Harper government now sides with the U.S., Russia, Australia and New Zealand in opposing the declaration. Many observers now see Canada as playing a prominent obstructionist role while turning a deaf ear to aboriginal leaders from around the world who have been pleading for the declaration.

The declaration's friends, including a long list of aboriginal organizations and NGOs like Amnesty International, admit that the declaration is only aspirational. But they say the government of Canada is now creating the perception that it no longer aspires to enhance the lives of some of the world's–and Canada's–poorest people.

So far the Harper government has been surprisingly inarticulate at home about its reasons for rejecting the declaration. The government's friends would like to believe it is stalling the declaration, along with its coalition of unwilling partners, because it has identified flaws that need to be ironed out for the benefit of both indigenous and non-indigenous people.

Those who are suspicious of Mr. Harper are more apt to believe he and his UN partners are objecting to the declaration for less-palatable reasons.

In any event, it is time that Canada's own indigenous people be officially consulted about Bill C-44. And it is time that the Harper government make it clear to Canadians what parts of the UN declaration it finds unacceptable and what it proposes to do about them.

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Bill C-44 may not be political problems for the Harper government on the scale of Afghanistan. But stunts like the summer recall of the aboriginal affairs committee make us think someone in government is rather worried about these issues.

Sask government Press Release ...

FINAL REPORT ON ABORIGINAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM RELEASED

The final report on the national symposium on Aboriginal economic development held in Saskatoon in January is now available online.

Excellence in Action: Best Practices in First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Economic Development was jointly sponsored by the Government of Saskatchewan, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) and the Clarence Campeau Development Fund (CCDF). The final report contains suggestions for next steps that need to be taken by Aboriginal communities, governments and industry to encourage and support Aboriginal economic success.

Among these suggestions are the development of an integrated policy framework for Aboriginal economic development; government funding of Aboriginal programming that does not disproportionately favour social over economic development; and universal support for strategies that specifically enable First Nations, Métis and Inuit women to become empowered and actively engaged in the economy.

"What we have here is the result of an insightful and productive symposium that covered a broad range of economic and business development topics from a national perspective," Premier Lorne Calvert said. "This report and the next steps it identifies are a vital key to enabling increased Aboriginal participation in the economic mainstream, not just in Saskatchewan but in all of Canada."

"The Clarence Campeau Development Fund was truly honoured to be part of the Excellence in Action Symposium," CCDF Vice-Chair Ron Rivard said. "The significance of this symposium was evident from the interest of Aboriginal, government, community and business representatives taking part in this event. The themes and workshops we shared with the First Nations, Inuit, and other Métis representatives was truly a valuable experience for all participants. We will take the lessons learned in this historic event and apply them to the future betterment of all Aboriginal people in Canada."

"The symposium convinced me of the need for innovative partnerships between First Nations and business, supported by government," FSIN Chief Lawrence Joseph said. "This report documents a number of valuable lessons on the need to strengthen our focus on economic development and how that will pay dividends for the well-being of our communities."

The three-day symposium attracted approximately 700 participants representing First Nations, Métis and Inuit people from across Canada. Six Premiers were in attendance, as well as representatives from a number of national, provincial and territorial Aboriginal organizations and communities. It also featured a wide range of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal enterprises ranging from large corporate enterprises to medium and small business ventures. In addition, 65 youth delegates from across the country conducted their own youth forum after the formal symposium proceedings.

The full report, which was prepared by the Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy, can be accessed at http://www.excellenceinaction2007.ca

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For more information, contact:

Jamie Shanks
Industry and Resources
Regina
Phone: 306-787-2202
Email: jshanks@ir.gov.sk.ca

Our annual campmeeting starts Wednesday August 8th and runs to Sunday August 12th.

Speakers will be posted on Amos Rae's homepage at http://amosrae.myknet.org or on a daily update leading up to the campmeeting.

For info call call Amos or Marianne Rae at 807 775 9827

Accommodations and meals and return fares will be provided for all guests as long as you call and let the pastor know how many are in your group.

God bless you  

Tom Terry's 45 year love for the north, the land, the waterways, the people, detailing his canoe route adventures is now available in print in his recent release of the "Canoe Atlas of the Little North".

This large book is available from a number of online bookstores including:

• Amazon.com
• Overstock.com
• Powells.com
• Barnes & Noble.com

From Sioux Bulletin ...

Canoe atlas covers waters in Little North
Marc Paulichenko, STAFF WRITER - August 1, 2007

MOST authors are adults by the time they start to outline their ideas for a book, but authors  and canoeists Thomas Terry and Jonathan Berger started collecting their information before they could hold a paddle.

The two have collaborated with their collection of maps and route knowledge in northern Ontario for the “Canoe Atlas of the Little North.”

“I started when I was probably in my teens, just doing trips and collecting route information,” said Terry, 56, a Sioux Lookout resident. “We have been gathering
the information since we were young.”

Berger, who lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, called Terry looking for canoe route information back in 1985.

Since then the two have been discussing the idea for the atlas.

“I talked to him for a couple of hours that first time and discovered we both had a similar idea to try to document all the routes in this huge area,” recalled Terry. “At the time our coverage complemented each other considerably.

“We combined resources right through the whole thing.”

Berger contributed the majority of the book’s sketches, as well as some of the writing in the  introduction.

They started actively working on the atlas and developing ideas  after initial talks.

The actual leg work for the maps and gathering of historical information from the experienced canoeists started 15 years ago.

“The history is all over the place. Some of the history we gathered really is from people who still use the water ways.”

Some historical information came from the Hudson’s Bay Company archives.

The time for a canoe atlas in Ontario’s north was long overdue, said Terry.

“I think it’s overdue because it adds to the knowledge of northern Ontario, the culture landscape. Really there’s very, very little information on northern Ontario and in some ways, intentionally or not, there’s a lots of information in terms of mapping and that’s the prime motivation for the atlas.”

The original map sheets their atlas is based on were last printed in the 1920s.

“At that time there was considerable canoe route information on the maps, but…there was less and less,” described Terry.

“When the maps first came out, canoe route information was important for anybody from the outside who wanted to get into the area. It was the only way to travel.”

Over the years, the airplane became the preferred travel choice and the canoeing information, in the government’s eyes, became less important.

Now if canoeists were to get copies of the maps they’d find them out of date and would realize people occupy the land, Terry said.

“These routes supported culture for hundreds of years, hundred of generations, and they’re still valuable as a transportation network.”

A small print run was used for the 144-page book with only 1500 copies, each selling for less than $95.

Both Terry and Berger contributed $5000 each to maintain the oversize format to keep the map’s condition.

The atlas covers more than 20 major lake and river systems within 1.3 million square kilometres.

“We thought it was really important to maintain the integrity of the maps,” said Terry.

“Many route publications are now a strip map treatment. They present the routes along the water ways.

Our presentation is based on the northern network.”

The term Little North is a name from the fur trade era.

The first traders from Montreal called it “Le Petit Nord” and The Northwest Company adopted that name for the area.

Rather than focusing on going from point A to point B, the book’s emphasis is on connection, said Terry.

“You can travel from one end of the Little North to the other,” Terry said, speaking of the west end of James Bay to Lake Winnipeg, and south of Hudson Bay to Lake Superior.

For some people the atlas will be more than a collection of canoe routes.

“It really speaks more of how people used the land in the past and how they use it now and how they continue to use it in the future to support their economy,” said Terry.

So far this summer Terry has found it hard to find time for canoe tripping, however he plans to hit the waters in the upcoming months.

“(Canoeing) offers a very pleasing, stressfree way to experience the outdoors and for many people they find it’s simplicity and… getting away from the common stresses and distractions,” he said.