Fall 2013 Special Issue

I would like to commend the self-government team on hosting one impressive conference in Inuvik in September.

I think everyone who attended was also impressed and everyone found it very informative in understanding self-government and how it works, or how it should work.
Special thanks to Norman for coming up with the concept and Patrick and his team for making it happen. It was also very nice to see all the youth take an active part in the conference. Thanks to all the leaders who attended. Special thanks to Matthew Coon Come from the Grand Council of the Crees, and to John B. Zoe from the Tlicho and Cathy Towtongie from Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. As I said during the conference, self-government is still a few years away, but we have to prepare our people, especially our youth by letting them know what self-government means and what its going to take to get them involved, and thats an education. Self -government without being self-sufficient is not going to happen. We, the Gwichin as an organization and a people, must be self-sufficient in order to be truly self-governing. Once again, thanks to all who helped organize and carry out this great conference.

Left to right: Top Row Sarah Jerome, Freddie Jerome, Alice Vittrekwa, Alestine Andre, Peter (PJ) Kay, Ernest Vittrekwa, Premier Bob McLeod, GTC Vice President Norman Snowshoe, Fanny Greenland, and Mabel Brown. Seated left to right: Steven Bonnetplume, Renie Stewart, Annie B. Gordon, Mary Teya and Eileen Koe.
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It was a privilege to host the National Conference on Self Government. In July 2012 I took office as your Vice President and was given the very important and challenging role as the lead on the Self Government Agreement file. During the negotiations and reporting to the community process it was quite clear that the Gwich'in were unclear about what Self Government actually meant. We heard numerous questions, such as:

Are we ready to take on Self Government? What is going to happen to our Land Claim and our Land Claim Funds? What is going to happen to the Bands? What is going to happen to our Treaty Rights? If we become Self-governing what is going to happen to the benefits we receive?
There were numerous other questions of this nature. The Gwich'in had many questions and the Self-Government Negotiation Team had limited answers for them. It was decided that in order for us to effectively answer the questions and concerns we were hearing that we would need to have a conference in Inuvik. This would provide us an opportunity to bring First Nations with Self Government Agreements to speak to the Gwich'in. This would also provide the Gwich'in with people who knew the answers to their many questions. The GTC also decided to bring in and focus on the Gwich'in Youth. The Gwich'in Youth of today will be the ones to implement the Gwich'in Self Government Agreement when and if it comes into existence. The GTC needed to start working on a Human Resources Strategy that would support the Gwich'in Self Government when it was completed. The GTC brought in leaders from across Canada including national leaders like Mathew Coon Come, Grand Council of Crees and Cathy Towtongie, President of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated. There were also leaders from BC, Yukon, and Manitoba. We brought in some young leaders like Brandon Kyikavichik, Chief Mathieya Alatini, and Ken Smith. All provided insight on their Self Government processes. They outlined the following in their presentations: The authority that was provided by Self-Government; Less administration challenges to access and run programs; Increased accountability to your own people; and Increased transparency to your own people. To sum it all up, the conference was a huge success. The presenters we brought in were excellent. The youth that participated were involved and genuinely interested. The Gwichin that attended all expressed that this was an excellent conference and many of the concerns they had were answered. I believe the Gwichin are ready to take on Self-Government and should take this huge step forward for our nation to become self-sufficient and self-reliant. I believe the direction I was given by the participants at this event was to go forward and get an AIP completed. That is going to be my immediate goal and I will need all the support from the Gwichin. I personally want to acknowledge the staff of the GTC who coordinated this national event. They demonstrated that the GTC has the capacity to host such an event. We are still getting great comments about the conference and people want to know, When is the next one?

GTC President, Robert A Alexie shaking hands with John B Zoe, Tlicho Government.

Bobby Clark, Nisgaa Lisims Government, BC; Chief Mathieya Alatini, Kluane First Nation, Yukon; and Brandon Kyikavichik, Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, Yukon.

Diane Strand, Champagne & Aishihik First Nation, Yukon; Cathy Towtongie, Nunavut Tunngavit Incorporated, Nunavut; Iris Frank, Ucluelet First Nation, BC; and Carolyn Lennie, Gwichya Gwichin Council.

Kevin McKay, Nisgaa Lisims Government, BC; Allan McDonald, AANDC; and Eugene Pascal, Ehdiitat Gwichin Council.

Priscilla Haogak & Maribeth Pokiak, Aurora College TEP Students; Reba De Guevara, Westbank First Nation, BC; Sean Smith, Council of Yukon First Nations, Yukon.

GTC Vice-President, Norman Snowshoe; Grand Chief, Grand Council of the Crees, Matthew Coon Come; and GTC President, Robert A. Alexie
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Yellowknife Dene Drummers

Conference Delegate Greta Sittichinli

Braydon Neyando-Koe

Premier Bob McLeod

Elder Annie B. Gordon

Elder Winston Moses

Over 75 youth attended the conference discussions.

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Elder Robert Hagar, Na-cho Nyak Dun First Nation, Mayo, Yukon

Peter (PJ) Kay, Ken Smith and Ellen Smith

Martina and Ronnie Rogers

Back to front: Mary Teya, Bertha Francis, Norbert Poitras

Ruth Wright

Suraj Chhetri, GTCs IT Consultant

Eugene Boulanger and MLA Jackson Lafferty

Drum Dance at the Hall.

Youth Team Leader Jordan Peterson (standing), seated L-R are Jaida John, and Beatrice Stewart
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Instructor Wanda Pascal explaining about the different types of Labrador Tea.

Instructor Irene Kendo teaching about spruce gum and how to make spruce juice.

Back Row: L-R Shenise Cockney, Jordan Peterson, Kathleen McCarthy (Maanulth, BC), Janesta McLeod. Middle Row: L-R Jay Wright, Naomi Peterson, Dale Blake Jr, Brayden Koe, Arnold Archie Front: Instructor/Ranger John Jerome

Instructor Alice Vittrekwa showing youth how to make dryfish and how to prepare it to cook over the fire.

Instructor Ernest Vittrekwa explaining about the different parts of the fish as he splits and fillets it.
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Jak Park in the fall.

Youth learn about traditional hunting and fishing practices while going for a nature walk, with Instructor Sarah Jerome.

Diane Baxter assembling youth into groups for activity sessions at Jak Park. Gailann Raddi, Wildlife Monitor

Making Spruce Juice

Youth, Chaperones, TEP Students and Team Leaders at Jak Park.

Gwichin land, culture & economy for a better future