In the best interest of First Nations communities (Column)

Every First Nations government has a host of community concerns waiting to be addressed. They range from immediate, day-to-day issues to long-term development.
In my own community, Flying Dust First Nation, concerns are met by chief and council and by collective efforts of programs to address the peoples’ needs.  But I think to expect the chief and council to solve each and every problem and manage every individual request is too cumbersome and not entirely democratic.

Working with the chief and council is a much broader world comprised of administrators, program managers and community committees.

The day-to-day operations of any First Nation rely heavily on having a team of staff members, administrators and concerned citizens to organize, and deliver a community’s basic programs and services.

Everything from Justice to Health to Housing and Education require not only a committee of band members to help leadership steer a program but a range of trained employees to implement whatever recommendations come from the committee.  The scope of the entire process is easy to grasp and yet, it can involve more function and complexity than most people would imagine.

The challenge in having a democratic system of community-based program committees, is that not every committee member will agree with their fellow members on every issue.

Add to that the other committees that may often be competing for the community’s limited resources and you can have one major headache for your leadership.

I believe that the solution,  in most cases, is to have rules and regulations that guide the best practices of each committee; a sort of rule-book that contains protocols and procedures on conflict-resolution and the management of each program’s resources.

I think it’s also important to remember that every committee is different and they have to decide what’s best for everyone in the community which is often a challenge by itself.  It’s almost impossible to make everyone happy all of the time.

How band members cooperate in program committees is crucial, but the team atmosphere in a band office is truly the bigger picture.

First Nations governments do not operate solely by the hands-on work of leaders but with the employees who make the programs and services work.  There is a collective group of trained professionals which can be made up from people inside and outside of the community.

I’m talking about the nurses in the clinics, the program managers, the finance personnel, the people working in public works and infrastructure and everyone else who makes up the front line of band employees.

This team is what deals directly with the members day after day and they rarely get the credit they truly deserve for their contributions to the entire team.  Of course I acknowledge that they are being paid to do a job, but beyond that there should always be some greater recognition of each contribution that everyone makes to the team.

My community’s motto is that teamwork equals success.  To take it a step further, I should also point out that teamwork doesn’t just create itself.

It is a commitment that we all must adhere to so that our individual differences don’t interfere with the team.  There is never going to be a perfect system and there are bound to be obstacles for every program’s staff members and their committees to overcome.

But therein lies the foundations of teamwork.  We have problems, needs and concerns that have to be addressed.  We have common goals and aspirations to pursue.

And if it wasn’t for all the challenges we have to overcome, we would never feel the need to create that team and thus achieve that success.

And in the end, when we achieve something as a community, it’s a heartfelt victory that can be shared and felt by everyone.