Elders Gathering

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Elders Gathering

Honoring Our EldersJanuary 14th, 2010


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Honoring Our Elders Gathering

Gji Geptin Antle Denny


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January 14th, 2010Listuguj

Table o ContentsABOUT US ...................................................................................................................... 1

VISION...................................................................................................................... 1

MISSION .................................................................................................................. 1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................. 2

THE GATHERING .......................................................................................................... 4

PROJECT PRESENTATION .................................................................................. 4

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION .............................................................................. 7

ISSUES ...................................................................................................................... 8

VISIONING ..............................................................................................................10

HONOURING OUR ELDERS DINNER ..................................................................... 14

CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 14

NEXT STEPS ................................................................................................................... 15


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ABOUT USIn the all o 2006, the First Nation communities o Listu-

guj, Eel River Bar, and Pabineau came together to orm theGespegewaq Migmaq Resource Council Inc. This began a

journey that would bring the communities together to im-

prove social conditions, economic conditions, and commu-

nication levels in the areas o aquatic and natural resource

management.

As Migmaw people, our connection to Mother Earth remainsessential to our very existence. It is because o this special re-

lationship that the Gespegewaq Migmaq Resource Counci

exists.

VISION The vision o the organization is to assist First Na-

tion communities within the traditional district o the

Gespegewagi by creating awareness and understand-

ing and gathering support to urther sustainable re-

source management. We see a uture where we can worktogether in the bay, managing our resources and having

a greater say in how they are managed, at the same time

building cultural bridges with the common goal o e-

ective natural resource management practices.

MISSION

On behal o the member communities, the Gespegewaq

Migmaq Resource Council will coordinate, initiate and

build capacity or activities to support sustainable re-source management and urther the development o

the resources.

In addition GMRC has maintained their commitment to

meeting the highest standards in the development and im-

plementation o ecient, eective and adaptable quality

management systems by obtaining and maintaining Inter-


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national Organization or Standardization (ISO) 9001:2008certication since 2007.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Gespegewaq Migmaq Resource Council held an Elders Gath-

ering on Thursday, January 14, 2010. Well over 40 Elders and

observers were present. The purpose o the Gathering was

twoold, rstly to honour the Elders by sharing with them

Salmon research that GMRC had undertaken, which incorpo-

rated Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge (ATK) and Aboriginal

Ecological Knowledge (AEK) and obtain their eedback. Sec-

ondly, GMRC wanted to honour the Elders by taking the time

to listen to their concerns regarding their role in the commu-

nity. A dinner was held in the evening to honour three Elders

rom our community: Robert Brisk, Isaac Ike Metallic and

Lilly Vicaire, who assisted GMRC in their research by partici-

pating in Elder interviews. Their participation was invaluable,

as it has oered GMRC the opportunity to preserve, protect

and sustain our local knowledge.

It was pointed out at the beginning o the Gathering that

GMRC recognizes and values Elders, Fishers and Woodsmen

knowledge as a rich environmental resource, which is at risk

o becoming extinct i proper measures are not taken to pro-

tect, preserve and sustain it. The participation and sharing

that occurred at the Gathering reinorced GMRCs belie that

there is signicant potential or reciprocal learning when El-

ders and others can come together to share the knowledge

and wisdom embedded within their storied experiences.Further, the Elders Gathering ndings match the insights

and proposed actions o the Salmon Research in that both

recommend that Elders and knowledge holders share their

knowledge with the youth, and to continue to gather to have

the opportunity to share their concerns. Some participants

expressed to sta members ater the session that they wel-

comed the opportunity to speak and be heard. Participants


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were invited to eel ree to come to the GMRC building andmeet with research sta and management at any time to

voice their concerns or just to visit.

The Elders Gathering has laid the groundwork or an active

and inormed Elders Advisory Council, which will serve to

bridge the gap between community and GMRCs scientic

research by providing inormation and advice related to ATK/

AEK and traditional orms o

governance.

This report was prepared o

Mark J. Sark, Chie Executive

Ocer o GMRC and the El-

ders and Participants o the

Gathering. At the direction o

the Elders, the report will be

provided to members o Chie

and Council or their review

We would like to acknowledge

and thank the Elders, Ggi Gep-tin Antele Denny and Geptin

Fred Metallic or their ull par-

ticipation and we look orward

to working more closely with

you in the uture.


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THE GATHERING

PROJECT PRESENTATION

The day started with a presentation o GMRC current and u-

ture projects to the Participants.

Victoria Metallic, Director, Environmental Research, GMRC

presented the project presented titled, Melgiginatug Tan

Telmawaomatigw Plamu Strengthening our Relationship

with the Salmon.

Victoria began her presentation by explaining how the val-

ues instilled in her by her parents led to her interest in the

environment. Ater completing her educational journey she

joined GMRC where she developed a keen awareness o the

value o combining the Migmaq ways o knowing with the

Western Science knowledge system. That is the approach

GMRC has taken with respect to the Plamu project and other

scientic projects.

GMRC initiated the Plamu project to address community con-cerns about levels o contaminants in our salmon and how it

could be impacting them. The project involved conducting a

survey and gathering local knowledge about the salmon by

spending time with Elders and resource users and learning

about the history and current relationship with the salmon.

It also involved skills transer by involving our project team

members in shing the waters with the knowledge holders

or the data collection. The sh were then analyzed by our

team members and sent or urther analysis to determine lev-els o dioxins and urans.

The key ndings o the salmon research was that the amount

o salmon we consume does not exceed the amount that is

required to cause negative health eects. We also ound that

salmon is an integral part o our lie, and even though about

hal o the participants believed salmon is aected in some


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way by contaminants, almostall o them continued to con-

sume salmon.

Victoria explained that she

would be presenting the

same inormation she pre-

sented to the Elders at the

Canadian Aboriginal Science

and Technology Society Con-

erence (CASTS), February

15th and 16th, 2010 and that

in order to give validity to the

project regarding the incorporation o ATK and AEK, she was

seeking authorization in some orm rom the Elders to share

the research.

Victoria also provided inormation on one o the recurring is-

sues GMRC has with outside organizations that only involve

First Nations or First Nations organizations at the end o their

planning process. GMRC or instance was not involved in the

planning process or Upsalquitch Management Plan at the

beginning and has only now been asked to provide input

and it is apparent that unequal weight is given to local re-

source knowledge.

She ended her presentation by stating that real participation

in the development o management plans and research in-

volving local resource knowledge must be based on the prin-

ciples o ownership, control, access and participation (OCAP)to be meaningul and community-based and that her goa

was to seek advice on how GMRC should be accessing lo-

cal environmental knowledge and how to share this knowl-

edge.

Following the presentation was a question and answer pe-

riod:


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Q: What concerns were raised about Salmon in othercommunities?

A: The concerns identied were the need to ocus our e-

orts on public education, capacity building and col-

laboration.

Q: What kind o research is currently being done on the

river by other organizations and do they know i the

populations are going up or down?

A: According to the Restiguouche Watershed Manage-

ment Council Science Committee the population fuc-

tuates year to year. When the adult Salmon population

is up the grilse population is down. Their research o-

cuses on population counts at the various lie stages

and spans the last 10 years.


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NB. Geptin Fred Metallic noted that based on his re-search at the pier, the Salmon population is going

down.

Q: What is GMRC to involve more youth in shing?

A: GMRC has submitted a proposal to the Atlantic Salmon

Conservation Foundation to develop a youth mentor-

ing program that would take interested youth out sh-

ing with a local experienced sherman to learn more

about shing techniques, protocols and traditionaknowledge.

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION

For the next hal o the morning the Participants were split

into two groups. The purpose was to have a roundtable

discussion that would highlight the issues and concerns o

the local Elders with respect to resource management and

the transer o knowledgeGroup one was acilitated by

Ann Gladue-Bualo. Group

two was co-acilitated by Lil-

lian Vicaire Moat, Vicky Me-

tallic and Tasha Metallic.

Immediately ollowing the

workshop, Ann, Tasha and

Lillian met to review the out-

comes rom the two groupsIt was in this review that we

identied the ollowing com-

mon themes.

Communication, Educa-

tion and Awareness are

important


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Knowledgeofourlanguageholdsempowerment

Visiting each other builds

community relationships

Sharingisanimportantas-

pect o who we are

Respectisveryimportant

ISSUES

The Participants expressed that al-

though communication, education

and awareness were important, they

elt that there was:

a lack of communication be-

tween band governance, pro-

grams and services and the El-ders;

lackofconsiderationforElders

involvement in educational and

awareness programs;

more education and aware-

ness are required on substance

abuse and alcohol support pro-

grams;

morecouldbedonetoencourageorpromotelackofpromotionoren-

couragement or urther education to attain sel-suciency.

alackofrespectforthe(traditionalandecological)knowledgecertain

Elders have and any advice they have given regarding the use o the

woods, or other element in the environment


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The Participants expressedthe importance o the

Migmaq language and

that the language can em-

power the Migmaq people

However, it was elt that the

community was suering

due to loss o language and

amongst other things this

was causing a generation

gap. It was also elt that the

language should be used

more in public meetings.

Preservation [] is what we do to berries in jam jars

and salmon in cans. [] Books and recordings can pre-

serve languages, but only people and communities can

keep them alive. Nora Marks Dauenhauer and Rich-

ard Dauenhauer, Tlingit [Alaska] oral historians. (in Lord

1996:68)

The participants noted that visiting was a common practice

in the past and helped to strengthen the community. They

also noted that visiting had diminished and that nowadays

people were visiting just their close amily or the visiting was

or party purposes resulting in increased alcohol and sub-

stance abuse. It was generally elt that the loss o common

practice o visiting our neighbours and amily has resulted in

the loss o harmony, trust and the sharing o values.

Participants expressed that in the past sharing what little you

had or the bounty you received rom shing and hunting was

common practice. People in the community would just seem

to know when to help. It is clear the principle o sharing tied

in closely with the practice o visiting. You got to know your

neighbours and needs. Some o participants expressed that


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the loss o the principle o sharing has led to individual greedand only certain amilies benetting rom resources such a

unding, housing, and natural resources, etc.

The Participants expressed that respect was very important to

them, however, some noted changes in even the last twenty

(20) years that included a general lack o respect or onesel,

each other; resources sh, birds, animals; land and the envi-

ronment. Some o the participant expressed that they have

not elt respected by leadership and elt disempowered by

certain band governments and are tired o not being heard.

VISIONING

In one group participants were asked to vision where they

would like to see themselves personally and as a community

in the next ve (5) years. The comments o the second group,

which were also visionary in nature were included in this

summary. Following are

their comments:

Elders are seen as

a valuable resource

and individuals, band

governments, schools

and community orga-

nizations utilize their

expertise regularly.

Communication, Educa-

tion and Awareness

Create programs, which

will get Elders involved

in activities with the


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Youth. The Youth Centre can become avital link or creating this bridge. The pro-

grams should not be designed exclusively

or certain Elders but should be open to

all Elders

Elders would like to be able to suggest

their own types o activities and guest

speakers (instructors) or Teachings and

or activities that allow or hands-on par-

ticipation, such as shing, basketmaking,canning, etc.

Elderscouldbuildtheir own document (liv-

ing document) based on their combined

knowledge

IdentifyElderswhowant to be involved in

sharing their knowledge

TheBandshouldencouragefurtheringof

education and skills development

The Migmaq language is our rst language and

is spoken and written in our homes, schools and

community by persons o all ages.

Language holds empowerment

Educators and others who speaks the language

should become more involved with the community

not just the classroom

Encourage meetings and social gatherings to be

held in the Migmaq language. Interpreters should

be available or the youth because knowledge trans-

er is important

YouthshouldbeencouragedtovisitEldersandlis-

ten to stories and Elders should be open to that


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The community will become stronger as commu-nity members begin socializing more by visiting

each other regularly and gathering in our homes

and the community.

Visiting builds community relations

OrganizationssuchasGMRCcontinuetohaveget-

togethers where Elders and community members

can socialize and discuss issues

Groups should organize potlucks, card games,etc

or everyone to socialize

Morepeopleshouldgetoutvisitingandgettoknow

your neighbours

The Migmaq are known or their kindness and

generosity, and the community will once again be


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strengthened by these values and the communitywill go back to their traditional practice o shar-

ing.

Principle of sharing

Peopleshouldstartto showconcernfor othersby

sharing with those less ortunate without being

asked

Parentsandeldersandotherscanpassonthisprin-ciple by modeling this behaviour or children and

youth

Sharing also involves sharing of your gifts (knowl-

edge transer) your insights, understandings, his-

tory, culture and traditions, through action, example

and through stories.

In our community, our Elders play an important role.

They are our wisdom keepers, our spiritual leaders

and most o all, our link to the past. In return, Elders

are given respect, not only within the amily, but also

within the larger community as a whole.

More Respect

Respectforoneself,yourspouseandyourchildren

Teachings on respect should start at home with

parent(s), and teachings can start at a young age Everyoneshouldmodelrespectfulbehaviourforthe

youth

Identify more role models and honour those role

models

Havepatiencewithyoungoneswhenteachingthem

language or a new skill it will teach them respect


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Wehavetohavemorerespectfortheenvironmentthe birds, animals, sh and our orests

Askforpermissionbehumbleandusehumility

HONOURING OUR ELDERS DINNER

A dinner to honour the Elders who participated in our Elders

Interviews was held to close out the GMRC Gathering. Over

75 Elders and others were in attendance. Katherine Sorbeyprovided the blessing or the dinner and the Gitpu Singers

rom AGS were on hand to provide the honour song or the

Elders. The keynote speaker or the evening was Gji Geptin

Andrew Denny who spoke on the importance o language

and the Migmaq culture.

A video montage o the GMRC Elder interviews was played

during the dinner. Gits were presented to the Elders ollow-

ing the keynote address.

CONCLUSION

The Gathering oered the opportunity or Elders and others

to share their stories, concerns and ideas. At GMRC we be-

lieve there is signicant potential or reciprocal learning and

understanding when we can come together to explore the

knowledge and wisdom embedded within your experiences

o lie and learning.

The Gathering matched the insights and proposed actions

o GMRCs research in that both recommend that Elders and

knowledge holders share their knowledge with the youth and

that continue to gather to have the opportunity to share.

The Elders Gathering has provided GMRC with valuable inor-

mation, which will guide our next steps in the ormation o a


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governance ramework or the continued guidance and par-

ticipation o Elders in our research. This ramework will be:

Basedonmutualrespect,sharing,andwillhon-

our and respect the Migmaq language, culture

and practices,

Willassistusinachievingourcommunicationand

educational goals o inormation sharing with the

community,

Willprovidethebasisfortheparticipationoflo-

cal Elders in the ormulation o GMRCs policy onresearch.

NEXT STEPS

In order to honour the principles o ownership, control, access

and participation (OCAP) in research, GMRC will continue to

take steps to work with the community in various orms such

as making presentations at community meeting, providing

written reports/communication materials, holding inorma

gatherings as well as ormal Elders Advisory meetings.

A ollow-up meeting will be held with the Elders to review

the priorities identied at the Gathering o January 14, 2010

and we will work towards the development o an action plan

which will guide GMRC and the Elders to work in partnership

to address our common concerns and goals or the commu-

nity, our resources and the environment.

Respectully submitted by:

______________________

Ann Gladue-Bualo

Executive Assistant to the CEO

Gespegewaq Migmaq Resource Council Inc.


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94B Riverside East

Listuguj, QC

G0C 2R0

T. 418.788.3017

F. 418.788.3192

Documents

Elders Gathering