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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Community Liaison & Student Recruitment Officer

The Oshki-Pimache-O-Win Education & Training Institute is an innovative, independent institution that offers post-secondary education and training programs to the people in Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) and other learners.  These programs are primarily offered through distance delivery with minimal on-campus sessions in Thunder Bay.  We offer choice, accessibility, flexibility, opportunities and support services for our students.Â

Hello Nishnawbe Aski Nation, I wanted to pass this info. onto your communities.   I had worked at NAN as the Education Coordinator in 2005 and with Education Jurisdiction before.  My email is micheller@awotaan.org.

 

Would you like an exciting career with Wasaya Airways?

Visit www.Wasaya.com TODAY and check out the Current Job Opportunites - including some immediate openings!

Current positions available:
(updated September 12th, 2007)  Â

Desta Rae reports ... (see the Toronto Star story below)

Three members of the KO tribal council took part in Project Beyshick this week. 

Founded by Aditya Jha, the POA Foundation in partnership with NADF organized the job shadowing / mentorship program for young entrepreneurs and prospective executives. 

Devon Archie Meekis (Deer Lake) was placed at the TD Bank headquarters, Desta Buswa (North Spirit Lake) at the Sick Kids Foundation, and Devon Blaine Meekis (Deer Lake) spent his time at Up Front Entertainment. 

Seventeen NAN youth were chosen to take part of this program. 

To apply for next years program, please visit the POA Foundation's website at www.poafoundation.org

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From Toronto Star ...

Project to develop business acumen in Ontario aboriginal communities - Founder sees program as way to help natives break away from government handouts

Jered Stuffco - CANADIAN PRESS - Jul 16, 2007

While most computer techs wage daily battles with destructive viruses, self-described "geek" Devon Meekis has to fight an affliction which can be even more debilitating than the most insidious spyware program.

Meekis, an aboriginal who started his own IT company about a decade ago, says he encounters jealousy and ridicule from within his own community.

"We have this theory we call the `crab syndrome,' where if somebody is pulling themselves out of the pail, all of the other crabs will try and bring them back down again," says Meekis, whose business is based in Thunder Bay.

Add to that prejudice and misconceptions from the white community, and it's no wonder aboriginals have a hard time breaking into the business world, says Meekis.

That's why he's joining 24 other young aboriginals in Project Beyshick, a mentorship initiative aiming to foster and sharpen the business acumen of First Nations communities through an intensive, week-long program of seminars, presentations and workshops.

"I'm seeing how hard it is for people like us to make it – for people who grew up on the reserve especially," says Meekis, who named his company FLI – which means "for little Indians.

"I figured that the best way to show somebody that they can make it is to make it yourself."

Project Beyshick, which started Saturday with orientation sessions in Peterborough, also gives participants from northern Ontario's Nishnawbe Aski Nation, serious face-time with some of Canada's top business leaders.

Meekis is set to spend three days this week job shadowing with Karen Dunk-Green, who works for TD Bank Financial Group.

"This year, I want to learn how to effectively manage people – how to effectively be hands-off while still keeping your ideas alive," said Meekis, 32.

Project Beyshick, which is now in it's third annual edition, is the brainchild of Aditya Jha, a Nepal-born businessman and philanthropist who moved to Canada from India and started a software company called Isopia Inc. in 1999.

Jha, who sold Isopia Inc. for more than $100 million in 2001, says he was spurred to start the project after witnessing the social problems and Third-World conditions rife within aboriginal communities.

Jha says that getting aboriginals more heavily involved in the business community could be an effective alternative to the system of government handouts which have kept aboriginals locked in a cycle of poverty.

Greg Baas, a participant who owns and runs a fishing and hunting lodge in the remote town of Sioux Lookout, echoes those sentiments.

He adds most aboriginals in his community don't have the support necessary to start businesses. "There are programs right now to help aboriginal businesses, but it's just having the courage to try and do it. It's not easy to run a business and not everyone wants to do it."

Baas, 32, is set to spend three days shadowing Ken Folwer, the investment wizard who heads one of the country's top investment and management advisory firms.

TVO CEO Lisa De Wilde, also acting as a program mentor this year, says the program is a unique tool.

"It does something that's concrete and it delivers something to young people that I think is unique across Canada."

Last year, Wilde mentored a 16-year-old girl from Timmins, who was exposed to an entirely new world. "She had a real eye-opening experience. She was so sweet. She said, `"I've never been exposed to a woman that runs an organization.'"

POST SECONDARY PROGRAM COORDINATOR

The Oshki-Pimache-O-Win Education & Training Institute is an innovative, independent institution that offers post-secondary education and training programs to the communities of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN).  We offer choice, accessibility, flexibility, opportunities and support services for our students.  Presently, accredited courses in business, social services, and early childhood education are in progress with two new programs starting this fall.

We are looking for a highly energetic and dynamic individual for the position of Post Secondary Program Coordinator.  The successful candidate will have an exciting opportunity to contribute to the educational growth and successes of Nishnawbe Aski Nation and other learners. 

Some of the responsibilities will include the coordination of the new programs, curriculum development that will involve reviewing and revising course outlines, updating casebooks and textbooks, and creating independent study packages.  Travel will also be required to the communities where the students reside for a range of reasons including support, encouragement, instruction evaluation, consultation with local education authorities, program promotion, among others.

Qualifications:

From the National Post ...

Spirit of enterprise - Tourism on 'the rez' is helping native bands wean themselves from welfare and preserve their culture
Karen Mazurkewich - July 07, 2007

Anti-logging protests were a normal part of life for Gisele Martin. As a kid growing up in Clayoquot Sound, she watched her father, a leader from the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations tribe, participate in blockades with his handmade cedar dugout canoe.

Predictably, the protests attracted journalists from far and wide. But unexpectedly, all that media coverage attracted tourists, too.

"After the 1993 blockades, people started coming and asking to see the big trees," says Ms. Martin. Her father, who skippered a whale-watching boat, recruited his young daughter as an interpretive guide. Now 29, Ms. Martin has taken that experience and turned it into an eco-tourism operation of her own, using her father's handmade dugout boats for excursions to old-growth forests. "I don't want to sell my culture, but I want to share it," she says.

Having helped save the land, the Martin family is now making a living off it. Ms. Martin is one of the new breed of aboriginal business leaders who view tourism as both a viable enterprise and a way of preserving a unique lifestyle. According to the National Study on Aboriginal Tourism released in 2003, there are more than 1,500 First Nation businesses catering to tourists.

Traditionally relying on government subsidies and casino revenues, there is "enough expertise and business entities to take it to the next level," says Daniel-Paul Bork, CEO, Aboriginal Tourism Canada, the organization that commissioned the 2003 study. As more aboriginal students graduate university with degrees in commerce and marketing, "more First Nations communities are stepping up to the plate," he says. "They realize that they no longer need to lease out their resources -- they can run the operations themselves."

While tourism will not solve all the social and political problems facing aboriginal bands across Canada -- as highlighted in the wave of First Nations protests Canada Day long weekend -- it has become a successful strategy for some leaders across the country.

Chief Sophie Pierre of the Ktunaxa Kinbasket Tribal Council in B.C.'s Kootenay region is a trailblazer. Chief Pierre had the moxie to turn a hated symbol, a residential school -- the St. Eugene Mission School --and its accompanying buildings into a golf course, resort, casino and conference centre. The mission school sat empty --like a scab -- for 20 years. Some argued for its conversion to a health or social welfare centre, but that meant turning to the federal government for money, says Chief Pierre.

"I wanted something revenue-generating," she says. A playground for Calgary's weekend warriors since its launch in 2003, the residential school-turned-resort brings in an estimated $13.6-million in annual revenue for the Ktunaxa Kinbasket band. The tribe is still in treaty negotiations with the government, but tourism has helped the band move forward, away from its cycle of government dependency. "Everyone's realized we need interim solutions," she says.

Self-reliance is a theme that permeates many of these First Nations start-ups. Chief Clarence Louie, leader of Osoyoos band in the Okanagan, is weaning his formerly bankrupt band off welfare subsidies with various tourism-related projects that bring in an estimated $13-million annually. A maverick leader in the First Nations community, Chief Louie weathered opposition on "the rez," and turned the band's wilting vineyard operation into the award-winning Nk'Mip winery through a partnership with Vincor International. The band also built the Nk'Mip Desert and First Nations Heritage Centre, and has just completed the Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort and Spa, a four-star property on reserve territory, with Calgary-based partner Bellstar Hotels & Resorts.

The 47-year-old chief has no time for talk about broken treaty promises -- "I don't have any faith in the Queen" -- and dismisses concerns that a winery might encourage drinking. For Chief Louie the winery is simply good business and good business practices alleviate poverty, the root of social problems like alcoholism. He's a pragmatic man: "We are in a wine-growing region. Your region dictates to a large extent what you do economically -- whether you are white or native."

While Chief Louie says his band embarked in the tourism sector for the same reasons white people do -- to create jobs and make money -- he says the band's business model is not only about the bottom line.

"We have our social and environmental responsibilities, cultural responsibilities and we put a lot of our profits back into the community," he says. He's confident the sector has future potential because the Aboriginal brand is unique in Canada: "If you want to learn about Scottish culture you go to Scotland. If you want to learn about French culture you go to France. But if you want to learn about Mohawk culture, you have to go to Mohawk territory."

Chief Louie's tourism model, while criticized by some native leaders who consider it a sell-out, has become the template for many bands across the country. At least four new interpretive centres will open in 2007-2008, including Metepenagiag Heritage Park in New Brunswick, the Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park in Alberta, the Haida Heritage Centre at Qay'llnagaay in Haida Gwaii along the coast of British Columbia and the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre in Whistler, B.C. Other new ventures include the Wei Wai Kum Cruise Ship terminal, which was officially opened in June by the Campbell River Indian band in B. C., and the new Wendake museum and hotel complex on the Hurons-Wedat reserve along the Okiawenrakh River to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Quebec City.

These are adding to established tourist-related native businesses, such as First Air, the airline that was purchased by Makivik Corp. of Kuujjuaq. The corporation was created on behalf of the Inuit of northern Quebec.

While many of the new ventures are developed by band councils, an increasing number of aboriginal entrepreneurs have struck out on their own, bypassing band politics. Doug Green runs Cariboo Chitcotin Jetboat Adventures near William's Lake in the Interior of B.C. The only aboriginal-run jet boat tour company in the province, and operating in a remote part of the province, he promises such idyllic experiences as watching the salmon spawn and grizzlies feast. Mr. Green didn't grow up on a reservation, but he received valuable life lessons from his father, who once made him crawl into a den to touch a sleeping bear.

Mr. Green, who is of Tsilhqot'in and Cree heritage, chose not to go to his band for financial support. Instead, the former tree feller relied on his own credit rating, plus blood, sweat and tears to launch his operation. He travelled to see how other aboriginal groups marketed tourism, and checked out his competition in the province. Bookings are growing but, "it's a struggle," he admits. Despite the financial uncertainty, he's convinced tourism will be "front and centre" of the B.C. economy as the forestry industry declines. "The province should be promoting aboriginal people, not non-native companies hiring token Indians as guides," he says. Tourists, he says, want an authentic experience.

One of the biggest challenges for small operators like Mr. Green, is tapping into the network of international tour groups. The greatest interest in aboriginal cultural packages is from outside Canada, particularly Europe, according to Audry Lochrie who runs Talking Totem Tours, a company that organizes native cultural and eco-tourism packages throughout British Columbia. She knits together tours by entrepreneurs like Willie Charlie, who created Sasquatch Tours three years ago. As a former cultural worker hired by the Chehalis First Nations band, Mr. Charlie found himself frequently "wining and dining" visitors interested in learning more about native people. "There was so much interest, I thought this could be a living," he says. Leveraging talent as storytellers, drummers and bark weavers, his family opened its longhouse to visitors and began running boat trips along the Harrison River and Harrison Lake in the southern mountain region of B.C., to view ancient pictographs painted on the rocks. Mr. Charlie has a story at every bend in the river. He believes that he and others like him are helping fuel a revival of traditional ways.

It wasn't long ago when the government banned potlatches, says Mr. Charlie. "So our elders stayed quiet about our songs and dances and then didn't teach their children because they were afraid that they'd be punished," he says. "Now the elders say it's OK to pass it on now -- it's time to share these stories again." Better still, it's providing employment for the youth.

Tourism has kept Mr. Charlie's sons -- in their 20s -- on the land, for now. It also afforded Ms. Martin the opportunity to quit her dead-end waitress job and reconnect with her native roots. Tourists are always throwing Ms. Martin curveballs, asking her such tough questions as: What is the traditional use of jellyfish? "It makes me think about my culture every single day," she says.

Equay-wuk (Women's Group) is seeking two summer students for the positions of a Receptionist (Member of Treaty #3) and Office Assistant (Member of SLAAMB Area).

RECEPTIONIST - Summer Student

Member of a Treaty #3 First Nation

Equay-wuk (Women's Group) is seeking a summer student for the position of Receptionist.

Duties:

• Clerical support services such as answering telephones, distributing messages, maintaining the mail system, operating the photocopier, fax machine and other office equipment.

Qualifications:

• Good communication skills both oral and written
• Ability to do tasks assigned with minimal supervision
• Administrative skills-using a computer, report writing

Hours:     30 hours per week x 8 weeks

Rate of Pay:     $8.00 per hour

Deadline:     June 22, 2007

Application Requirement:  Resume, Cover Letter

Eligibility:  Applicant must be:

• Member of a Treaty #3 First Nation
• Must be a registered full-time student who intends to return to school on a full-time this fall.
• High school, college or university student
• Must have a Social Insurance Number

Apply to:

Equay-wuk (Women's Group)
16 Fourth Avenue, P.O. Box 1781
Sioux Lookout, ON     P8T 1C4
FAX:     (807) 737-2699

NOTE:  ONLY THOSE APPLICANTS TO BE INTERVIEWED WILL BE CONTACTED.

OFFICE ASSISTANT - Summer Student

Band Membership from SLAAMB area

Equay-wuk (Women's Group) is seeking a summer student for the position of Office Assistant.

Duties:

• Clerical support services, such as typing correspondence, operating the photocopier, fax machine and other office equipment, filing documents, answering telephones.

Qualifications:

• Good communication skills both oral and written
• Ability to do tasks assigned with minimal supervision
• Administrative skills-using a computer, report writing

Hours:     35 hours per week x 8 weeks

Rate of Pay:     $8.00 per hour

Deadline:     June 22, 2007

Application Requirement:    Resume, Cover Letter

Eligibility:  Applicant must be

• Status with band membership from a SLAAMB community
• Must be registered full-time student who intends to return to school on a full-time in the fall.
• High school, college or university student
• Must have a Social Insurance Number

Apply to:

Equay-wuk (Women's Group)
16 Fourth Avenue, P.O.  Box 1781
Sioux Lookout, ON     P8T 1C4
FAX:     (807) 737-2699

NOTE:  ONLY THOSE APPLICANTS TO BE INTERVIEWED WILL BE CONTACTED

Keewaytinook Okimakanak Research Institute is involved in several exciting projects in the upcoming months and is looking for qualified workers to fill the following positions:

HRSDC Summer Student Placement - Online Workshop Technician
11 weeks. Deadline June 13, 2007.

Online Workshop Scheduler
12 weeks with possibility of renewal. Deadline June 13, 2007.

NOHFC Youth Intern - ICT Researcher
1 year intern position. Deadline June 13, 2007.

Please click on each job title for a description of key responsibilities and qualifications.

Please submit a resume and covering letter to:
Brian Walmark
Research Director
216 S. Algoma St. Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 3C2
Email: brian.walmark@knet.ca

For information about KO and the Research Institute, visit www.knet.ca.