Port Alberni
Voices from Vancouver Island BC.
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In answering the two main questions being put forward in these engagements: 1) what is the priority of your community and 2) how should the fund be managed, the responses were clear. The majority of representatives supported culture and language and healing as top priorities, and most who contributed were strong in their position that the monies need to be invested for future generations.
Culture again surfaced as a top priority. Speakers underlined the importance of cultural values, cultural philosophies and systems, and language as the foundation for healthier and more prosperous communities. One speaker pointed to the high social impacts such as homelessness, addictions, violence, and poverty as side-effects of disconnection from culture, and appealed for more support for healing and wellness. Several people spoke passionately about the high amount of suffering in First Nations communities both off and on reserve. One speaker called for the focus of the fund to be on supporting and improving the well-being of individuals, thus improving communities and Nations.
Concerns were again raised early in the meeting regarding the amount of money in the Fund. Speakers pointed out that the money, divided amongst all First Nations, amounts to very little. Most attendees called for the funds to be invested for future generations, and some suggested that some could be spent now to address immediate needs, and the rest invested.
Questions were raised over the intent of the BC government, namely how sincere the New Relationship actually is. A number of chiefs and negotiators mentioned that the attitudes and stance of ministries that they deal with has not changed since the New Relationship was announced. Concern was voiced that the Trust funds were put out to divide and fracture First Nations, and leadership in attendance appealed for all First Nations to work together. Some stated that the money is "peanuts" and that significantly more funds, as well as long term commitments from the governments and true attitude changes, are needed for real change. In general, most people were cautiously optimistic that the Trust is a step in the right direction, but concerns and questions still stand.
A couple chiefs listed bridging the on-and-off reserve population divide as a priority, and pointed to challenges of members living off-reservere as a major issue. Other priorities raised were education and funding for strategic planning.
In general the Port Alberni meeting heard strong opinions from a number of leaders, and there was general consensus that language, culture, and strengthening the individual must come first. Speakers were also in favour of long term investment of the funds vs. short term spending.
Quotes:
"Language is very high on the priority list." - Local Elder
"Maybe it is [about] the teachings and philosophies of our grandfathers, about respect, about responsibilities, about how we treat each other." - Local Elder
"Cape Mudge wants this money to stay together, for the future." - Cape Mudge rep.(man)
"We live on the edge all the time... we believe that this money needs to be kept together for the future. What we are reiterating is that our language, culture, our health, our spiritual rules, and our governance comes back... that was our way of life. Now we are beggars in our own lands... Although this money is not much, we need to invest it." - Cape Mudge rep (woman)
"Capacity building means building a foundation. Helping a person get out there and be successful." - Nuu cha nulth rep (woman)
"I would hate to see this become a BC capacity initiative type trust [single year funding], I prefer the Vancouver Foundation model with multi-year funding... [We] need a multi-year source of funding..." - Hulquminum treaty rep.
"Whatever objectives we're trying to achieve through this trust have to be premised on healthy people and healthy lifestyles. With healthy lifestyles and healthy people we can do proper and better planning for our future generation... 100 million really isn't a lot in the larger scope of things." - Chief of regional nation
"it is so important we look at protecting who we are [through the culture] through this trust." - Chief of regional nation
"We are faced with violence and we must address it. In order to invest in the future we need to heal our young today. We need to work together... we box ourselves, the youth, women, and elders, in the past we approached in a holistic approach. We shouldn't be dividing... talking about womens today, the youth tomorrow, and the elders another day... the social needs in my territory are great." - Hulquminum Elders
"We are here to stay and we want to work with you [BC govt, outside stake-holders]" - Chief of region nation
"We need dollars to complete our strategic plan... that plan shows 10 years from now, exactly what we need [to be self sufficient]." - Chief of region nation
"Why aren't [the resources] being capitalized? What I keep seeing is a lack of strategic planning" - Malaspina FN rep.