January 2015

Happy New Year from Walpole Island First Nation Chief & Council!!!!!

We hope that everyone had a safe and happy holiday season and you’re all getting a great start to 2015. It’s hard to believe that we’re already halfway through January!

2014 was an incredibly busy year and we would like to take a moment to acknowledge the community members that we lost. They are all greatly missed and we offer our sincerest condolences to their friends and families.

We would also like to say miigwech to the community members who volunteer their time to put on so many fantastic events in our beautiful community. We would especially like to acknowledge the volunteers’ hard work at the Annual New Year’s Day Feast. This event has been bringing the community together for over 100 years and is still going strong!

In this brief newsletter, you will find information on a number of initiatives that we will be working on and opportunities for community involvement in these initiatives. Read on to see what we’re up to and how you can be involved.

Contents

Page 1 Upcoming Community Audit Meeting

Page 2 Matrimonial Real Property Law Development

Culture, Language & Healing Strategy

Page 3 Council Portfolio Areas & Contact Information

Executive Oversight Committee

Page 4 Calendar

Sneak Peek of Upcoming Updates

Upcoming Community Audit Meeting - Thursday

January 22, 2015 at the Governance Building

Chief and Council would like to welcome all band members to join us at 5:00 pm on Thursday, January 22 for a presentation of the 2013-14 Audit. We will also share information on some of the projects that we are working on. An agenda for the meeting is currently being drafted.

If anybody would like a copy of the audit and other meeting material in advance of the meeting, packages will be available at the political office.

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Walpole Island First Nation January 2015

In September 2014, WIFN Chief and Council created a working group made up of four councillors and one team leader to address the imposition of the Federal Homes on Reserves Act. This working group has now begun the process of gathering community input for the creation of our first WIFN specific law and we need your input! Matrimonial real property generally refers to the family home and the land on which it sits. While this particular law will only deal with matrimonial property rights, we hope that this will be the first stepping stone to the creation of our own set of laws based in our culture and traditions here in Bkejwanong Territory. We know that this won’t be an easy process and there are many factors to consider, but we are very excited to be getting out into the community and working with our members in the creation of this law.

In December of 2014, the MRP working group held an initial meeting with a follow up meeting on January 10th. The next meeting is coming up on Saturday January 31st, 2014. Anybody who is interested in providing ideas, comments, questions, concerns, or suggestions in a smaller group or family setting is encouraged to contact the MRP team lead or one of the MRP working group members listed below:

Arlene Dodge, Team Lead: 519-628-5222 or wifnmrplaw@gmail.com Councillors: Rex Isaac, Muriel Sampson, Daintry Kewayosh, and Chris Riley (Contact info on the following page)

Information, links, and presentations are posted on our website as well at the following link, or scan the QR code on the right! http://walpoleislandfirstnation.ca/matrimonial-real-property-law-development/

Miigwech and we hope to see you at one or more of the sessions!

WIFN Matrimonial Real Property Law Development – Your Input is Needed!

Culture, Language, & Healing Strategy We have recently contracted Cecil Isaac Jr to engage with community members on the development of a Culture, Language, & Traditional Healing Strategy. So far Cecil has held two open community meetings and two more are scheduled:

Wednesday January 21, 2015 6-8 pm at the Arena

Wednesday January 28, 2015 6-8 pm at the Arena

We hope that you can make it out to one or both of these sessions! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to contact Cecil.

Cecil Isaac Jr., Cultural/Language Coordinator 519-628-5700

isaaccecil187@gmail.com

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Walpole Island First Nation January 2015

Councillor Chairperson Areas & Contact Information

Name Email Phone Chairperson Responsibilities

Chief Dan Miskokomon drskoke@wifn.org C: 226-627-4332

Michael Dashner Michael.dashner@wifn.org H: 519-627-7273 C: 226-627-3124

Economic Development, Finance, Resource Protection, Library (alt), Information Technology (alt)

Lyle Johnson Lyle.johnson@wifn.org H: 519-627-9343 C: 226-627-1491

Public Works, Heritage, Civil Authority, Capital Projects

Muriel Sampson Muriel.sampson@wifn.org C: 226-627-3171 Board of Education, Finance, Personnel, Lands (alt)

Shirley Tooshkenig Shirley.tooshkenig@wifn.org H: 519-627-3026 C: 519-437-7367

Finance, Employment & Training, Housing

E. Rex Isaac Rex.isaac@wifn.org H: 519-627-9613 C: 226-627-4315

Aboriginal Title Working Group, Personnel, Capital Projects, Health, OFNTSC (alt)

Daintry Kewayosh Daintry.kewayosh@wifn.org C: 226-627-4319 Aboriginal Title Working Group, Lands & Membership, Social Services, Bkejwanong Youth Facility (alt)

Ashley Shipman Ashley.shipman@wifn.org H: 519-627-2265 C: 226-627-4326 Personnel, Bkejwanong Youth Facility

William Tooshkenig Bill.tooshkenig@wifn.org H: 519-627-3026 C: 226-627-4328

Aboriginal Title Working Group, Board of Ed. (alt), Arena (alt)

Alan Jacobs Alan.jacobs@wifn.org H: 519-627-9218 C: 226-627-1492

Finance, Library, Information Technology, Health (alt), Public Works (alt)

Chris Riley Chris.riley@wifn.org C: 226-627-4329 Aboriginal Title Working Group, Capital Projects, Personnel, Resource Protection, Social Services (alt), Civil Authority (alt)

Carl Smith Jr. Carljr.smith@wifn.org H: 519-862-2170 C: 226-627-4331 Arena, Housing (alt)

Roger Williams Roger.williams@wifn.org H: 519-627-8423 C: 519-401-0964

Aboriginal Title Working Group, OFNTSC, Finance, Capital Projects, Heritage (alt)

Political Office Staff & Contract Workers

Name Email Phone Title

Alissa Murphy Alissa.murphy@wifn.org 519-628-5700 ext 223 Political Office Receptionist

Alicia Blackeagle Alicia.blackeagle@wifn.org 519-628-5700 ext 282 Executive Assistant to the Chief

Inez Jacobs Inez.jacobs@wifn.org 519-628-5700 ext 341 Band Secretary

Everett Kicknosway Everett.kicknosway@wifn.org 519-628-5700 ext 255 Director of Operations

Aimee Johnson Aimee.johnson@wifn.org 519-628-5700 ext 264 Communications Coordinator

James Jenkins James.jenkins@wifn.org 519-628-5700 ext 322 Political Advisor

Ray Dodge Ray.dodge@wifn.org 519-628-5700 ext 243 Information Technologist

Dale Jacobs Dale.jacobs@wifn.org 519-628-5700 ext 278 Special Projects Coordinator

Walpole Island First Nation January 2015

Coming Up… Here are just a few of the things that you can expect to see information on in the near future:

• WIFN Communications Strategy & website updates

• Treaty Council with neighbouring Chippewa communities

• Union Gas partnership to bring natural gas infrastructure to Walpole

• Community Planning

• Partnerships & business opportunities

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