First Nation of Na Cho Nyak Dun

PO Box 220

Mayo YT Y0B 1M0

Ph: 867-996-2265

Fax: 867-996-2267

Email: main@nndfn.com

els of protection in the

entire Peel region.

On this trip I learned that I

need to spend more time

on the land, not just that

along the highway but all

the land for which we

have stewardship. Som-

mer, my 8 yr old grand-

daughter, met me at the

float plane dock upon my

return. With my arm

around her shoulder I re-

flected on the hope that

someday she can go out

and enjoy the peace and

tranquility of her ances-

tral lands and she will re-

member what I have

taught her, as my ances-

tors spoke to me, so may I

speak to her.

Mussi Cho

I spend a lot of time in

my office, on the phone,

looking at emails, read-

ing correspondence and

working on the logistics

of building and running

a government. I go to

meetings with other

leaders and discuss the

implementation of our

self government agree-

ment and our land claim

agreements. At home

Council and I deal with

the day to day business

of policy development

and decision making.

Sometimes it is hard to

see the forest through

the trees.

For the week of August

9th I had the opportunity

to travel the Wind River

by canoe and show

some new friends our

traditional territory and

see the “why” of what

we do through new

eyes….and refresh my

own. We all know that

the message from the

old people is that the

land is all we have and

we are charged with

looking after it for fu-

ture generations. More

and more we political

leaders, along with our

administrative staff,

take care of the land in

a paper and digital

world. However my time

on the Wind River re-

minded me again of the

need to preserve the

tranquility of the land,

the purity of the waters,

the cleanness of the air

and the spirits of our

ancestors who were

along on this trip. I

gained new inspiration,

new drive and new com-

mitment for the formi-

dable government build-

ing task before us.

We do live between two

worlds, in one world we

protect things on paper

and in another we need

to be present on the

land to remember what

we are protecting and

why. Our lands dept has

been working with other

governments to oversee

the planning and protec-

tion of the Wind River

area and we have joined

with TH and VG and Tet-

lit Gwichin, through a

cooperation agreement,

to lobby other levels of

government for high lev-

Message from the Chief July/Aug/Sept 2010

Volume 2 Issue 3

Na Cho News and Events

Special points of

interest:

Safe Departure, Ca-

noeing the Wind River

Floating the Loon

On Cutting Edge

Introducing Ray

Kokiw

Message from the

Chief

Social Programs Up-

date

Inside this issue:

NND DC Update 2

Reconnecting—

rebuilding relation-

ships through Imple-

mentation

5

A Special Thank You

to NND 7

Social Programs

Update 8

Community Legacy

Update 10

Thank you Marie-

Louise 12

a safe journey. “I‟m very happy that

Simon is taking this trip,” Elder Jimmy

Johnny said. “You will feel a lot inside

during this trip. Enjoy yourself, be your-

self and enjoy your country.”

Chief Simon spoke passionately about

the importance of the area. “Land, Air,

Water – LAW; these are precious to life

– and should be protected by law – the

area needs protection,” the Chief said.

The spirituality and tranquility of the

area are of key importance to First Na-

tions, the Chief emphasized, something

valued for future generations.

“I‟ve been working many years to bring

First Nations and conservation groups

together out in the wilderness; to learn

from one another,” Gladys Netro from

Old Crow said. Gladys also joined the

group on the trip; her hard work made

this trip possible.

CPAWS,

YCS, Full

Circle Pro-

tection

Group and

Chief

Simon Mer-

vyn get

ready to de-

part on a

canoe trip

to the Wind

River.

On a clear Wednesday morning – Au-

gust 11, two float planes left the

Mayo base taking eight people into

the Peel region to paddle the Wind

River for nine days. On board were

representatives from the Canadian

Parks and Wilderness Society

(CPAWS), the Yukon Conservation So-

ciety (YCS), the Full Circle Protection

Group based in Hong Kong and Chief

Simon Mervyn of the Na-Cho Nyak

Dun.

The goal is for the groups to experi-

ence the river together, to share their

knowledge of the region first hand

and understand what its protection

means.

At a welcome gathering the evening

before their departure, Chief Mervyn,

Council and Elders Jimmy Johnny and

Helen Buyck shared a salmon dinner

and offered the group best wishes for

Safe Departure - Canoeing the Wind River

Page 2 Na Cho News and Events

TO ALL CITIZENS OF FIRST NATION OF NACHO NYAK DUN:

There will be a Special General Assembly to be held on October 16th, 2010

9:30am to discuss the “LANDS ACT “.

After these discussions are closed then the General Meeting will be open

where we will continue on FNNND‟s business. An agenda will be available at

the time of the meeting.

Some business that Chief and Council have identified is the updates for the

Strategic Plan, Governance Capacity Development Plan, 1st Quarter Finan-

cial Statements and Community Concerns Update from June 2010 General

Assembly.

Lunch and Snacks will be served.

Please make yourself available at 9:30am to make this a successful and

productive meeting. We all need to work together to build a strong govern-

ment for our future generations.

Mussi-cho,

Beverley Blanchard, Deputy Chief

~Special

General

Assembly

to be held

on October

16th~

Page 3 Volume 2 Issue 3

NND Development Corporation is currently in the process of restructuring itself. We plan to develop and implement the best strategies for NND and it’s citizens to maximize the economic opportunities that are in our Tradi-tional Territory, now and in the future. There are many lessons to be learnt from the experience with Mayo “B”. The most difficult one being that only we are responsible for the quality of the business deals that we negotiate – and for the impact good or bad that that deal leaves upon the First Nation. Times are changing, and many First Nations are now succeeding in negotiating lucrative deals that include eq-uity ownership at minimal risk/cost with large and small corporations work-ing within their Traditional Territory Therefore Dev Corp has extended invitations to select handpicked individu-als who bring business experience and expertise balanced with First Na-tion concerns to NND. A quality professional team will enable to compete effectively and efficiently within this changing economic environment. Dev Corp has just initiated a strategic plan and resource inventory study to be completed ASAP. At that time we will be in a position to announce all the names of the new directors and lay out how they plan to achieve the goals for Dev Corp. NNDDC

NNDDC Update

Introducing Ray Kokiw

April 1, 2009 my family (my

wife Anne and the dog

Aurora) and I re-located

from Mississauga, Ontario

to join my son, wife and

grandchildren who live in

Whitehorse. From April

2009 until June 2010 I was

the Manager, Human Re-

sources for the Ta‟an Kwa-

ch‟an Council.

My background for the

past 30 years has been and

continues to be in Human

Resources, Administration,

Finance and IT Systems

where I have held several

management positions

ranging from Principle

Owner and President, (The

Horus Group and RAM-K

Consulting), Vice President

and General Manager,

( ASG and ITR Inc.), Man-

ager, Human Resources

and Administration Invest-

ment Division, (Prudential

Assurance Canada), Re-

c r u i t m e n t M a n a g e r ,

(Goodrich Landing Gear),

Human Resource Special-

ist, (Head2Head, L3, Kelly

Permanent Recruitment,

Stone &Webster), including

many other companies and

organizations that have

required my consulting ser-

vices.

I was born in Montreal and

my heritage is Cree, Mo-

hawk, French and Irish

went to Sir George Wil-

liams University, Business

Administration, and re-

located to Toronto, com-

pleted two years towards

an accounting designation

IRA, management courses

at McGill University and

York University along with

several certificates in vari-

ous fields.

I am please to be engaged

by FNNND in the capacity

of HR Consulting Contrac-

tor to shore up the person-

nel polices & procedures

and personnel issues.

Page 4 Volume 2 Issue 3

Kent Sinnott, Franklin Patterson and Shawn Germaine put the NND welcome sign up.

Did you

know: The

First Nation

of Na-Cho

Nyak Dun’s

Traditional

Territory

covers

162,456

square kilo-

meters of

land

Page 5 Volume 2 Issue 3

Implementation officers with the First Nation of Na Cho Nyak Dun (NND) continue to work with the Gwitch‟in and Sahtu in

NWT on cultural renewal through transboundary negotiations.

The work is about negotiating rights in First Nation traditional territories. It is about sharing the land and resources with

Gwitch‟in and Sahtu families and neighbours. But before reciprocal sharing agreements are negotiated, it is about get-

ting to know each other again – reconnecting and rebuilding relationships.

In June 2009, a delegation of more than 80 Gwitch‟in and Sahtu visitors came to Mayo. NND hosted a large community

barbecue with over 300 people attending. It was a time to gather and connect to the past through ancient bloodlines.

“Last June we shared stories, drummed, danced and feasted,” said Phyllis Peter, Implementation Officer with NND. “Since

then Elders have continued to connect, and families are researching their past.”

“The 2009 gathering was about getting to know each other again,” Art Hoogland, Implementation Officer, said. “From

stronger relationships, we will learn what our priorities are and then we will work on sharing agreements.” “Non-native

people need the borders,” Art added. “But for us it is based on sharing; on how to conduct ourselves in each other‟s terri-

tory – it is about honour and respect.”

Transboundary negotiations are about alliances being formed; collectively agreeing on potential impacts and actions.

One medium-term goal is to work on the on re-building the old trail from Lansing Post to Fort Good Hope. A longer term

concern is water protection – taking the lead on setting the highest water standards in the world.

Both Phyllis and Art agree, this is important work because this about family, NND history and home. The land, water and

resources are ties that bind First Nation people together. NND hopes to have another gathering.

“If we get nothing more out the negotiations, but we get together again,” Art said. “It will have been worth it.”

Reconnecting – Rebuilding Relationships through Implementation

Photos of the knife

makers and their crea-tions

In July, Social Programs and the Heritage

Department of the First Nation of Na Cho

Nyäk Dun (NND) organized a one-week

knife-making course. This was the first

time NND offered this course, and its full

participation is an indicator – it was a

great success!

“This is one of the few times I‟ve seen

many of these men enjoying a course to-

gether – laughing, having fun – and pro-

ducing beautiful tools,” Bev Genier, NND

Heritage Officer said.

Vern Swan from the Ojibwa First Nation

from Manitoba taught the course. “He‟s

a very spiritual man,” Bev said. “He

talked a lot about the roles and responsi-

bilities of men and women. And high-

lighted how important it is for men to

treat women well.”

Elder Lena Hummel produced a beautiful

knife, though she said she had a lot of

help from her grandson, Gary Brown. “I

liked the course, it was all good, and I

would take it again,” Lena said.

Art Hoogland took the course with his

daughter; for him it was a great opportu-

nity to share some time together. “We

live in a small community, and like all

small communities there are political and

family issues,” Art said. “But none of that

was part of this course. Here, we were

together - trading ideas and sharing

equipment, but working individually. At

the end of the day, we are still people and

this is still home.”

For many the course gave them a sense

of accomplishment. They all started from

the same place and shared a common

bond. Community participation was also

important. Community members donated

antlers and people visited every day to

see what was going on.

The equipment – grinders, buffers, files,

safety gear, a band-saw and a drill press

were donated to the community. The

hope is to offer the basic course again and

maybe an advanced course too.

There are sign-up posters around town. We

need at least 15 committed people, so if

you are interested put your name down or

talk to the NND Social Programs and/or the

Heritage Department staff.

Bev Genier

Vern Swan and Gerry Buyck

Elder Lena Malcolm

Don Germaine and Vern Swan

On the Cutting Edge

Page 6 Volume 2 Issue 3

Page 7 Volume 2 Issue 3

As Elder Jimmy Johnny said at the celebration before

we left, “You will feel a lot inside during this trip.

Enjoy yourself, be yourself and enjoy our country.”

His words and advice couldn‟t have been more true.

We want to thank NND both for the celebration be-

fore we left on our trip and also for the wonderful

„welcome back‟ dinner! We all felt privileged to be in

NND‟s traditional territory with your Chief and to be

honored at both ends of the trip by the wonderful

people of Nacho Nyak Dun. Sharing our experiences

with you made it all the more meaningful for us.

The Peel watershed is a place to find solitude, it is a

place to share community with friends, it is a place

to rest and heal, and it is a place to work together to

protect forever.

Mike & Karen

Art and Heidi Hoogland Gerry Buyck Stewart Moses

Andy Lucas Ronald Peter

Elder Jimmy Lucas

Jack Mclean

Blaine Peter Garry Brown

Tera Melancon William Patterson Frank Hutton

A Special Thank-you to NND

As you know, we recently paddled the Wind River

and part of the Peel River with Chief Simon. Our trip

took us through a wonderful part of NND‟s Tradi-

tional Territory where the spirits of those who have

traveled and lived in the Peel watershed can still be

felt. This made the words of Chief Mervyn all the

more powerful to us as he echoed the thoughts of

many NND elders and citizens while we sat around

the campfires – the importance of keeping the land,

water, and air, all of it, in the condition it was when

it was passed down. He spoke to the strength we all

have in working together to save the Peel water-

shed. To protect it not only for ourselves, but for our

grandchildren. For everyone‟s grandchildren.

May the healing properties of the watershed endure

forever! The Peel watershed is so beautiful and var-

ied it is hard to describe – everyone needs to go

there to see the wild mountains, the beautiful rivers

& streams, and the sustaining life that is all around.

The air is all fresh, and every place smells different

than the last.

Mike Dehn Karen Baltgailis

Executive Director,

CPAWS-Yukon

Executive Director, Yukon

Conservation Society

Na Cho News and Events

With the winter approaching

we are hoping to get more

p r o g r a m s h a p p e n i n g

throughout the week. We

helped fund with Heritage

department the knife making

workshop and we extremely

pleased with the amount of

interested people, as well as

the magnificent quality of

the knives produced. We are

hoping to bring Vern up again

to do a follow-up on this

course later in the fall, per-

haps to coincide with the

men‟s retreat we are plan-

ning.

We are still looking for some-

one to plan a women‟s and

men‟s retreat based work-

shop, as well as someone to

take care of elder‟s wood and

chimney cleaning this

year. Please check out the

job ad‟s around town and put

your name forth.

We are still writing funding

proposals to get money in

order to renovate the old

NND Government administra-

tion building, and have been

appealing to the mining com-

panies to help with some of

the operational costs to

again open this building.

Sandy Washburn

Community Resource Officer

Some changes that will be

happening within my position

as the Health Promotion

Trainee I will be working on

the Women‟s and Men‟s re-

treat happening late fall/

early winter 2010. The re-

treat will be held at Ethel

Lake to educate on violence,

drugs and alcohol. The re-

treat will have a number of

professional facilitators to

come and do a number of

workshops with the men and

women. I have asked Myra

Shilleto to come and address

the concern of the drug ec-

stasy in November 2010. She

will be putting on a workshop

for the youth at the JVC

school ,parents and the com-

munity are invited to attend

and a session for NND staff

members. I will also be work-

ing on the Youth “Scared

Straight” five day workshop

this winter. Lee Mason from

the Young Warriors Network

will come and present this

workshop during the School

spring break in March 2011.

Tera Melancon

Health Promotion Trainee

I recently met with Chief and

Council to make some

changes to the SA policy. The

changes were as follows:

The furniture allowance is no

longer confined to the 4

items (washer, fridge, stove

and bed). It has been

changed to a set amount per

every 2years which gives the

freedom to purchase things

like kitchen tables, couches

and so on.

The eligibility for supplemen-

tary needs has been changed

from 3 to 6 months. A client

must be on Social Assistance

for 6 months consecutively in

order to be eligible for sup-

plementary needs.

If a client is offered a job and

refuses they will be consid-

ered ineligible for social as-

sistance for one full month.

For a client who is in a treat-

ment center, what we used

to provide is rent and utilities

payment, the client did not

receive any money. They are

now eligible to receive inci-

dental and clothing allow-

ance which would equal to

$130.00 per month for a sin-

gle client.

The National Child Benefit

Supplement is now being

deducted as an earned in-

come.

*Also I have made the

change to have clients com-

ing to the new government

house rather than meeting at

the old NND Government

building downtown. This al-

lows me to access to client

files and the computer in

order to verify information

while meeting with each cli-

ent.

Karla Olsen

Social Programs Administra-

tor

Social Programs Update

Page 8

Volume 2 Issue 3 Page 9

Floating the Loon

It‟s a labour of love and

promises to be a thing of

unique beauty. The resto-

ration of The Loon is a

boat builder‟s dream and a

formidable challenge. The

work requires patience

and craftsmanship.

The loon is a small vessel,

only 55‟; designed with a

tunnel hull and an ex-

tremely low draft. It was

built to float in only eight

inches of water, yet it can

push a barge, carry 25

people or several tons of

freight.

The boat belongs to the

Silver Trail Association

and, in exchange for la-

bour, the First Nation of

Na Cho Nyak Dun (NND)

can charter the vessel free

of charge. NND hopes to

use it to charter passen-

gers to the Old Village.

Edwin Peter has been

working on the project for

two seasons. His father

once built river boats and

he finds the work on The

Loon a challenge. “You

have to be very careful

working with the original,

old pieces,” Edwin said.

“I‟m learning a lot and I

like the work – I sure hope

it floats,” he said with a

smile.

The project began in ear-

nest four seasons ago, and

Marc Johnson, the project

manager, expects it to be

completed in two more

years. This is an historic

restoration, which means

they are following the

original design and using

as much of the original

parts as possible, includ-

ing the original engine.

The Loon was one of the

very first jet boats and

was designed by the White

Pass and Yukon Railway

Company in the early

1900s. Marc points out

that it being a jet boat

doesn‟t mean The Loon is

fast – it means it has a

particular jet engine.

The boat was abandoned

on the Whitehorse water-

front, donated to Parks

Canada and then given to

Marc Johnson. Marc has a

lot experience and a deep

passion for restoring old

boats. He restored the

Yukon Rose, which is now

floating on the river in

Dawson.

Marc is proud of the work

done by his crew, pointing

out the intricate place-

ment of new and old

planks and the smooth,

meticulous sanding-work

of the labourers. “This

work is good; it would im-

press even highly experi-

enced boat builders.”

The community has also

pitched in; a citizen of Na

Cho Nyak Dun salvaged

the oak railings from the

demolition of the old J. V.

Clarke School. “He knew

they would come in handy

during this restoration,”

Marc said. “And they will,

so he gave them to us.”

Restoration work contin-

ues this season until Octo-

ber. Next summer the

crew will float The Loon in

a deep trench of water, let

the wood absorb as much

water as possible and

then make whatever ad-

justments are necessary.

If you are interested in

working on the project,

come to the old NND ad-

ministration building at

8:30 on Monday mornings

to join the crew.

Edwin Peter

and Mark

Johnson

posing with

the Loon.

Na Cho News and Events

Hi, my name is Ed Champion and I am

the Grandson of Jack & Mary

McDiarmid. I have come back to the

land where I was born, and have

been in Mayo over

the last few months involved in the

Mayo “B” project as the subcontract co-

ordinator for NND.

As most of you may have heard, I have

proposed - and Chief & Council

have supported the proposal of devel-

oping an action/feasibility plan to

construct a new

“Community Legacy Building” in Mayo

that will benefit everyone in some

way.

The building com-mittee consisting of

6 well known local citizens has met a

number of times over the summer to

identify and priori-tize the community

needs that could be

included in the new building. We are in

the process of com-

Page 10

Community Legacy Project Update

pleting a feasibility study to construct a

3 story building downtown that will

contain a new store as well as other

uses for the benefit of the community

on the 1st floor. The

2nd floor is mainly office space, and

the 3rd has residen-tial space.

This new building

will only work with t h e g e ne r o u s

“involvement” of Kiewit/YEC and the

mining companies in the area who are

benefiting from our natural resources.

We trust these

companies wil l prove to be good

corporate citizens who will contribute

to this significant legacy project de-

signed to last well beyond the expira-

tion of their pro-jects.

NNDDC will take

the lead on this project - if the deci-

sion is made to go

ahead with the pro-ject based on com-

munity support and enough financial

support being gen-erated.

We plan to hold a

community meeting on Sept 28 @ 7pm

at the Curling Club to share our ideas

with the people and to get your feed-

back.

Please call me @

867.335.3989 if you have any ques-

tions.

Ed

“we

plan to

hold a

commu-

nity

meet-

ing on

Sept

28th”

Page 11 Volume 2 Issue 3

This summer, NNDFN

Lands and Resources

Department, in collabo-

ration with NND Educa-

tion Department had the

opportunity to offer an

Environmental Monitor

Training Program (EMTP)

for NND citizens. This

training was run through

the Mayo Campus of the

Yukon College. The 7

week program is de-

signed by the BEAHR

(Building Environmental

Aboriginal Human Re-

sources) institute and

was instructed by

Stephen Biggin-pound.

The course is designed

to introduce students to

environmental monitor-

ing. Graduates receive a

completion certificate. 9

students took the

course. This is a positive

stepping stone towards a

greater involvement of

NNDFN into the various

projects taking place in

their Traditional Territory.

During the first four

weeks of the program

students focused on: en-

vironmental impacts,

rules and regulations,

introduction to environ-

mental sciences, data

collection techniques.

The EMTP incorporates

the use of traditional

knowledge into the cur-

riculum; a good portion

of the course was spent

in the field.

This summer, students

were able to participate

in many important stud-

ies occurring in the Mayo

area. One of the studies

was a Keno Valley

stream assessments sur-

vey, looking at streams

in the Keno Valley that

are potentially affected

by mining in the area.

This project was lead by

Bonnie Burns and Nick

De Graff.

EMPT students learned

about stream surveying.

At each stream, the

group looked at: benthic

invertebrates, sediment,

vegetation, water chem-

istry, water flow, and

fish. This information is

then compared to the

data collected from a

natura l untouched

stream of similar size

and ecosystem setting to

determine the impact of

mining on the tested

stream. The streams sur-

veyed were: Chrystal

Creek, Lightning Creek,

Williams Creek, and Dun-

can Creek. Other activi-

ties included:, ecological

monitoring, site tours at

the Elsa and Keno Mine

site, stream and habitat

restoration walks and

discussions, hands on

experience at Robert

Hager‟s Fish Camp and

Fraser Falls fish camp,

learning about culture

and subsistence in the

traditional environment

with the guidance of Eld-

ers Bernice Catcheside,

Jimmy Lucas and a crew

of dedicated helpers

from NND.

NND hopes to see these

students carry on into

this field of study and

become stewards of

their Traditional Territory.

Thank you to everyone

who contributed in in-

volving the EMTP stu-

dent into the various

field work which oc-

curred this summer and

to everyone who helped

in making this program

available for NND.

Mussi Cho! / Thank You!

If you have any questions

about the reclamation at

Keno Hill Property or if

you have any knowledge

you wish to share with

us, please feel free to

contact the mining recla-

mation coordinator for

Na-Cho Nyak Dun First

Nation, 996-2265 Exten-

sion 134, or miningrecla-

mation@nndfn.com and

we will direct you to the

appropriate program per-

son. Submitted by Josee

Lemieux-Tremblay.

NNDFN Environmental Monitor Training Program

Shelley Buyck and Marshall Buyck at the new

Alexco Mill on August 4, 2010.

EMTP students looking at streams

in the Keno Valley that are poten-

tially affected by mining in the area.

This project was lead by Bonnie

Burns and Nick De Graff in July.

EMTP students at the Husky site

near Elsa on August 4, 2010.

NND Elder Jimmy Lucas with EMTP

students Dana Hager and Shelley

Buyck at Fraser Falls Fish Camp on

August 7, 2010.

Page 12

THANK YOU!!

Many thanks to Marie-Louise Boylan

from the INAC Communications De-

partment in Whitehorse for coming to

Mayo for a week in August and help-

ing us identify many of the stories we

have told in this issue of the newslet-

ter. She made our “every day” come

alive in words and we are happy to

share her writing with you.

First Nation of Na Cho Nyak Dun

PO Box 220

Mayo YT Y0B 1M0

Ph: 867-996-2265

Fax: 867-996-2267

Email: main@nndfn.com

Website: www.nndfn.com

Once again if there are any questions, comments

or suggestions about the newsletter or if you

want an electronic copy please email me at

nyoung@nndfn.com.

Nacho News

W E ’ RE ON THE WEB WWW . NNDFN . COM

Big River People