Coming home to contribute

Page 5

Leaving home and then coming back can be a daunting experience, but not for 32-year-old Nancy Cree.

Cree calls Fort McMurray home. She is the co-ordinator of the Fort McMurray First Nations Industrial Relations Corporation (IRC), working as a liaison for the oil industry. She said the IRC came into effect in 2000, when the five bands in the area and the Athabasca Tribal Council agreed to work with the government and the oil industry.

"I started this job in February, and what I've done is consult with the community to see the things that they'd like to see developed in the community, and the number one thing that I found was wrong in this community was that there was no communication. The communication in the community was at a very low level amongst each other and especially amongst the youth and the Elders; they were hardly communicating at all. I then looked over my key concerns in the community and found that the youth and the Elders had to start getting together because the Elders had the most knowledge in our community and our youth are going to be our next leaders," she said.

Cree then sent a proposal to the oil industries with a suggestion for a youth and Elders' camp that took place for the first time this year in August.

"This is the first one ever in our community. We went out to a place called Gypsy Lake. We actually flew there. It is a 20-minute flight southeast of us. It was great. We did storytelling there. We spent a whole day with Elders, and they taught us how to set snares, how to make bows and arrows, how to make a lean-to without an axe and we learned about a wide variety of plants for medicinal purposes that were used by our ancestors for many years. They even showed us how to pick the medicines without killing the roots of the plant. It was just great, and they taught us a bunch of stories and the struggles they had and we all just kind of came together as friends."

Cree said that she would like this to be an annual event for the community. "Next year we will try to find a different place to take the kids and hopefully there will be more youth," she said.

Cree said that close to 200 people live in the community. "We have more on the band list but a lot of them live out of the community. They've left the community to go and find work. There are probably a little more than 500 people on the band list," she said.

"We utilize as much of the Elders that we can in the community. We have the view from the Elders and all their knowledge, but youth also have a lot of knowledge to share, so I would like to see a youth committee in the community." Although Cree is from the community, she moved away when she was 12. She's been back home for two years.

"I've come back home with all the positive views that I saw when I lived away from here. I said 'Let's try this or this might work or let's give this a shot.'" She said her communication skills come from what she's learned in life.

She is hoping that her community will eventually expand and she is also hoping that a multi-plex will soon be built on the reserve.

"A place for our youth to go to and for gatherings, such as round dances and celebrations. There is always a possibility that things could be good in the community. All it takes is a lot of trials, as in anything you try there are barriers, but it is just working through them that is important and not giving up."