IN THIS ISSUE:REGIONAL STRATEGY

SPECIAL INSERT

Career Fair in Fort Hope

Neskantaga Junior Kingergarten Orientation

Broadband Update

Welcome New Staff

MATAWA M E S S E N G E R

May, 2014

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page 4“Living With Us...”

April 24 - Chiefs of Matawa Member First Nations, the Province of Ontario, as well as Matawa community members celebrated at the Regional Strategy Commemoration Ceremony. For more information please see insert.

Matawa Chiefs Sign Regional Framework - See Our Special Insert

KIIKENOMAGA KIKENJIGEWEN Employment and Training Services (KKETS) Aboriginal Skills Advancement Program Students Graduate

On April 4, 2014, 46 adult graduates from the KKETS Aboriginal Skills Advancement Program celebrated their acheivements with their fellow students and received their high school diplomas.

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Matawa Education Shines at the Eabametoong Career Fair

On April 16th, 2014, Staff and teachers from Matawa Education visited John C. Yesno Education Centre in Eabametoong First Nation. Over the course of theday they presented career and educational options for the students and the community at the Career Fair. The Matawa team met many new faces at theevent and dispersed many literacy resources with the aim of helping improve students’ reading and writing abilities.

The JCY students and community members presented local career options, and together with Matawa, NAPS, Noront, Nakina Air Service, and MNDM helped make this year’s career fair one of the most diverse ones ever.

By John Veenstra

Neskantaga First Nation SchoolJunior Kindergarten Orientation

Broadband Update

HIGH SPEED INTERNET could be coming to you! The Remote & Aroland First Nations Broadband Steering Committee is asking for community input into proposed routes to lay cable to Eabametoong, Marten Falls, Neskantaga, Nibinamik, & Webequie.

No final route has been selected – we want to hear from you first!

Starting points (already connected): Wunnumin Lake, Pickle Lake, Nakina/Aroland.

For more information, please contact your local Broadband Representative:

Aroland Larry BaxterEabametoong Andy Yesno Lewis Nate Wayne Slipperjack Marten Falls Lawrence BaxterNeskantaga Wayne Moonias Edward MooniasNibinamik Chief Johnny Yellowhead Matthew Sofea Harvey YellowheadWebequie James Suganaqueb Lawrence Mekanak

Or Lindsey Jupp at Matawa First Nations Management

807.344.4575

The final week of April 2014, the Early Learning Specialist and a Literacy/Numeracy Specialist visited the Neskantaga Education Centre. The purpose was to facilitate a Kindergarten orientation for the students that begin Junior Kindergarten in September 2014; however, we also spent time in all the classrooms observing and co-teaching lessons.

The evening of the Kindergarten orientation was spent rotating through centres (play dough, big blocks, puzzles, and letter and number magnets). The parents participated, and the families went home with a goody bag of resources to help them continue preparing for Junior Kindergarten.

We’re asking for your help to answer these questions:1. DO YOU WANT BROADBAND? (faster internet, cable, & telephone)2. ARE THERE AREAS THE CABLE SHOULD NOT GO? Contact Us!3. DO YOU KNOW THE GROUND CONDITIONS ON THE ROUTES (rocky, swamp, etc)? Contact Us!

Neskantaga Economic Development Corporation and Ginoogaming First Nation have been approved by the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund to start their Comprehensive Community Economic Planning projects.

Both First Nations have been working with Matawa Economic Development Department to secure resources for each project that will research potential benefits of the nearby mining, forestry, tourism and energy developments and assess the current local resources and future opportunities.

A community wide holistic strategic planning exercise will be conducted in each First Nation that will research the direct benefit potential of the several proposed resource development projects and examine the implications for the whole community. Economic and social dimensions will be considered with all pillar groups that will have direct input into the long term plan and direction for the First Nations.Both First Nations are optimistic that Fednor will fund the other part of the project.

Neskantaga and Ginoogaming secure Planning Dollars from Northern Ontario Heritage Fund

Matawa Education28 N. Cumberland Street, Suite #500, 5th Floor

Thunder Bay, ON P7A 4K9Tel: 807.768.3300 Fax: 807.768.3301

Matawa First Nations | 233 S. Court Street | Thunder Bay, ON P7B 2X9 | Tel: 807.344.4575 | Fax: 807.344.2977 | Toll Free: 1.800.463.2249w w w . m a t a w a . o n . c a

As one of Canada’s most widely distributed bird species, black-capped chickadees can be seen and heard all year-round from the Yukon to Newfoundland. In the winter,

black-capped chickadees form small flocks of about 8-12 individuals and can be seen flying across open areas one at a time with a bouncy flight. Chickadees are “seed-caching” birds, meaning they find seeds and store them in surrounding trees until they are needed. This makes chickadees frequent winter guests at bird feeders filled with sunflower seeds. In the summer, male black-capped chickadees defend territories of about 200 m in diameter and try to attract a female by singing songs which sounds a lot like: “cheeeese-bur-ger”. The normal chickadee call can be heard all year-round, is sung by both the males and females, and sounds like they are saying their name: “chicka-dee-dee-dee”. Sometimes black-capped chickadees will add extra “-dees” at the end of their call to indicate they are stressed or angry.

Did You Know… Four Rivers has been developing a plan with several Matawa communities to record the songs of boreal-breeding birds (like the black-capped chickadee) with special acoustic recording devices in the Matawa traditional territory? To find out more, contact Samantha Krause at skrause@matawa.on.ca or toll free at: 1-800-463-2249.

For more information about black-capped chickadees: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/black-capped_chickadee/id For more information about us check out: www.fourriversmatawa.ca

Living with Us… Black-capped Chickadee

Matawa First Nations Management Welcomes New StaffFour Rivers Environmental Services GroupGeomatics Technician, Charlene Wagenaar

Charlene is originally from Kenora, Ontario. She moved to Thunder Bay in 2008 to pursue an Honour’s Bachelor of Science in Biology at Lakehead University, and graduated in 2012. Afterwards she attended Red River College in Winnipeg to acquire her Advanced Diploma in GIS Technology. She

has been cheerfully working in the Four Rivers Department of Matawa First Nations Management as a Geomatics Technician since partway through January, and looks forward to the coming months as part of the organization.

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Aboriginal Skills Advancement ProgramStudent Advisor, Alicia Brink

Alicia is excited to join the ASAP team as the Student Advisor. She has had a wide range of work experience that has taken her from her home town of Thunder Bay to many places such as Attawapiskat where she worked at a literacy camp, to as far as England where she taught high school. Alicia

graduated with her masters in English last May, and is also an Ontario Certified Teacher. She is passionate about the forest, the lake, and creating (be it drawing, painting, carving or writing). She is grateful to join the staff at Matawa in KKETS/ASAP, and looks forward to working with the team to make positive changes in the lives of students.

Listen to our radio broadcast every second Tuesday at 2:30pm EST

Listen at www.wawataynews.ca/radio89.9 FM in Sioux Lookout

106.7 FM in TimminsBellTV Channel 962

For more information please contact our Communications department at Matawa

807.344.4575

UPCOMING SHOWS:May 27June 10