Grandson of Chief Dan George want to reach youth

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Sturgeon Lake, AB.

"The last nine years of my grandfather's life, we were like room mates. My grandfather was a very warm and loving person. He loved everyone and treated everyone equal. My

grandfather never judged anyone. It was the way he was," says Jim Aleck.

Aleck's grandfather is the famous Chief Dan George whose wisdom was passing on at a recent youth/elder conference on the Saddle Lake Reserve.

He hails from the Stolo Nation in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, where his grandfather also lived.

Aleck, whose mother is the daughter of Chief Dan George, was invited as one of the speakers of the conference.

Conference organizer John Gambler says the group wanted him to share what he had learned from his famous grandfather.

"He knew his grandfather very well. We all know Chief Dan George had much to offer when he was alive," said Gambler.

"The things he must have told Jim are important, important enough that I thought it would be a great idea for Jim to share some of that wisdom Chief Dan George passed on to him,

right here at the conference."

Aleck, who is a youth worker at McMann Youth Service in Edmonton, told the conference participants that he would like to see treatment programs heard strictly for youth.

"When you stop and think about it, there is no treatment centre in Canada that caters just to youth," he said.

"I do know we have to reach them at an early age. So possibly in the future, we will have a treatment centre just for youth," he said, hopefully.

The St. Albert resident graduated from the Nechi program in advanced counsellor training in June.

Aleck says he plans to enroll in the future in a child care youth development program at Grant MacEwan Community College.