Profiles of the First Nations participating in the Partnership Fact Sheet 1 - December 2018

The three First Nations who are crown land and 714 members consisting of 338 pursuing a First Nation Education Au- males and 376 females living off-reserve. There thority are the Cumberland House Cree are 392 members who are 19 years-of-age or Nation, the younger living on-reserve and on crown land. and the . Cumberland House has 258 houses. The following are brief profiles of A number of businesses operate at Cumber- each of the three First Nations: land House. The businesses are the Chief Island Community Store and Gas Bar, CJ’s Take Out, Cumberland House Cree Nation Cumberland House Hotel, Dayspring Bed and This First Nation is a signatory to Breakfast, Hazel’s Taxi, McKay Sisip Outfitters, , having signed an adhesion on Mistik Lodge Outfitting – Hunting and Fishing, September 24, 1875. Cumberland House Cree Mom’s Burger Place and the Northern Store and Nation is located at the northern terminus of Gas Bar. Highway 123 and is situated on the . In Cree language, Cum- James Smith Cree Nation berland House is called Waskahikanihk. This First Nation is a signatory to , signing on August 23, 1876, at . Cumberland House consists of the northern The name of the First Nation is derived from village of Cumberland House and the Cumber- the original chief who signed the Treaty. James land House Cree Nation. The community is the Smith Cree Nation is located 58 kilometres east oldest permanent settlement in western , of Prince Albert. having been established in 1774. In July of 1902, the James Smith, Chakastaypasin The Saskatchewan River Delta, consisting of and Peter Chapman Bands were amalgamated 10,000 square kilometres of marshes at Cum- into a single band, since known as the James berland House, is the largest inland river delta in Smith Cree Band. This action has since been North America. determined by the Indian Claims Commission to The First Nation has five reserves. These are: be invalid. • Budd ’s Point No 20D consisting of 259 hectares; The First Nation has two reserves. These are: • Cumberland House Cree Nation 20 consisting • Cumberland 100A consisting of 7,899.20 hect- of 1,622.80 hectares; ares; and • Muskeg River 20C consisting of 95.10 hectares; •  consisting of 7,200.30 hectares. • Pine Bluff 20A consisting of 25.50 hectares; and The Chief and Council of the James Smith Cree • Pine Bluff 20B consisting of 143.40 hectares. Nation are elected by a custom code for a The Chief and Council are elected by a custom three-year term. The current Chief and Coun- code for a three-year term. The current Chief cil were elected in January of 2018. The Chief and Council were elected in March of 2018. The is Wally Burns and tral First en N C a ti members of Council are Chief Rene Chaboyer the Councillors are t Nurture o s n a Empower s and Councillors Leon Budd, Julius Crane, Bever- Gerald McKay, Ken- E Future Tre les of aty ley Goulet and Angus McKenzie. dra McKay, Deborah Artic McLean and Tanya

The total population of Cumberland House Cree E Moostoos. d ip Nation including all residencies is 1,714 as of u h ca rs ti e July 31, 2018, with 846 males and 869 females. The Chief and on Par tn There are 1,000 members consisting of 507 Council of the Peter males and 493 females living on-reserve and on Chapman Band are elected by a custom code for a three-year term. The Chief and Council of the Shoal Lake Cree The current Chief and Council were elected in Nation are elected by a custom code for a three- February of 2018. The Chief is Robert Head year term. The current Chief and Council were and the Councillors are Brian Head, Kevin Head, elected in April of 2007. The Chief is Norma Phyllis Head and Valerie Whitehead. Bear who was elected in a by-election in the fall of 2018 replacing Carlton Bear. The Councillors The Chief and Council of the Chakastaypa- are Kevin Bear, Floyd Flett, Eldon Whitecap and sin Band are elected by a custom code for a Clyde Young. three-year term. The current Chief and Council were elected in February of 2018. The Chief is The total population of Shoal Lake Cree Nation Calvin Sanderson and the Councillors are Leslie is 1,077 as of July 31, 2018, with 551 males and Opoonechaw, Barry Sanderson, Florence Sander- 626 females living in all residencies. There are son and Skye Sanderson. 884 members consisting of 449 males and 435 females living on-reserve and on crown land and The total population of James Smith Cree Nation 193 members consisting of 102 males and 91 is 3,590 as of July 31, 2018, with 1,789 males females living off-reserve. There are 419 mem- and 1,801 females living in all residencies. There bers who are 19 years-of-age or younger living are 2,006 members consisting of 1,038 males on-reserve and on crown land. Shoal Lake Cree and 968 females living on-reserve and on crown Nation has 100 houses. There is one business in land and 1,584 members consisting of 751 males the community, X&C C-Store and Gas Bar. and 833 females living off-reserve. There are 680 members who are 19 years-of-age or younger living on-reserve and on crown land. James Smith Cree Nation has 258 houses. Two businesses operate at James Smith Cree Nation. These are the First Labour Solutions and the Tri-Nations Convenience Store. Shoal Lake Cree Nation This First Nation signed an adhesion to Treaty 5 on September 7, 1876. The original mem- bers of the Shoal Lake Cree Nation, namely Kisemoswakapaw, Okakeek and Osawask were members of The Pas Indian Band. Shoal Lake Cree Nation is on the Carrott River and is located 98 kilometres east of Nipawin. The community is accessed via Saskatchewan Highway 55. The First Nation has one reserve, Shoal Lake 28A consisting of 1,479 hectares.

For further information, please contact: The Principals at the schools located in the three communities or the website for the East Central First Nations Education Partnership at www.ecfnep.ca The schools at the First Nations Fact Sheet 2 - December 2018

The East Central First Nations Each of the schools has a library. The students Education Partnership is exploring attending the school could utilize more holdings creating an Education Authority and to enhance the interests of the students using is composed of three First Nations, the facility. Cumberland House Cree Nation, The most classrooms are located at the Bernard James Smith Cree Nation and Shoal Constant Community School with 24 classrooms, Lake Cree Nation. Currently, each while Nisto Awasisak Memorial School has 15 of the First Nations has a school. classrooms and Wachik Education Complex has The Cumberland House Cree 13. The Bernard Constant Communty School Nation’s school is called the Nisto has regular classrooms along with computer, Awasisak Memorial School. The James Smith industrial arts, language and science classrooms. Cree Nation’s school is called the Bernard Con- Nisto Awasisak Memorial School has regular stant Community School. The Shoal Lake Cree classrooms and craft, computer lab and industri- Nation’s school is named the Wachik Education al arts classrooms. Wachik Education Complex Complex. has a computer lab, craft, culture and industrial arts classrooms. All three of the schools should The oldest of the schools is the Bernard Con- have their industrial arts classrooms upgraded stant Community School which was completed with more equipment so students could learn the in 1986. The Nisto Awasisak Memorial School basics of more trades. was completed in 1999 and the Wachik Educa- tion Complex was completed in 2000. Each of the schools has a gymnasium. The gym- nasium at Bernard Constant Community School The largest of the schools in square metres offers physical education activities such as bad- is the Bernard Constant Community School minton, basketball, floor hockey, ping pong and at 3,618 square metres, while Nisto Awasisak volleyball. In Nisto Awasisak Memorial School Memorial School and the Wachik Education the activities offered in physical education are Complex both have 3,455 square metres. basketball, hockey and volleyball. Sports activ- Bernard Constant Community School offers ities in physical education at Wachik Education programming for Nursery to Grade 12 while Complex that are played are basketball, floor the other two schools offer classroom instruc- hockey and volleyball. tion in Kindergarten to Grade 12. In Septem- Outdoor recreational activities are popular in ber of 2018, the enrollment at Bernard Con- the three communities. At Cumberland House stant Community School was 318 students and Cree Nation, the youth are active in broomball, at Nisto Awasisak Memorial School the enroll- hockey and skiing. ment was 250 students while Wachik Education tral First en N The youth at James C a ti Complex had 207 students. t Nurture o s n Smith Cree Nation a Empower s In September of 2018 at Bernard Constant E Future play soccer and par- of Treaty les Artic Community School, there were 22 teachers ticipate in track and

and 30 support staff including bus drivers. field. At Shoal Lake E d ip Nisto Awasisak Memorial School had 31 Cree Nation, the u h ca rs ti e teachers and 17 support staff including bus youth participate in on Par tn drivers while Wachik Education Complex had baseball, soccer and 17 teachers and 17 support staff including track and field. bus drivers. All three of the schools are at least 18 years- The schools of the First Nations who are partici- old and are in need of some renovations. Such pating in the Partnership renovations needs are not uncommon in school infrastructures that are reaching this age. At Bernard Constant Community School, a ma- jor retrofit is required. Repairs are needed to the front doors, and the electrical and heating systems need upgrading. Replacing them with energy efficient products would save money on utility costs. The school would benefit from more efficient windows, which would also save on util- ity bills. The roof needs a replacement. Land- Bernard Constant Community School at James Smith Cree Nation scaping is required around the school and the playground needs replacements and an upgrade. Nisto Awasisak Memorial School is in generally good condition. However, it needs all of the flooring replaced. The roof has not aged well and it too needs replacement. The front en- trance requires some major renovations and this area needs to be made more energy efficient to save on utility bills. The playground equip- ment needs to be replaced and upgraded. The Nisto Awasisak Memorial School at Cumberland House Cree landscaping, especially at the front of the school, Nation needs attention. Shoal Lake Cree Nation’s Wachik Education Com- plex requires a major retrofit. The heating system needs to be replaced with the latest in technolo- gy developments and the roof needs work. The landscaping around the entire school needs to be redone.

Wachik Education Complex at Shoal Lake Cree Nation

For further information, please contact: The Principals at the schools located in the three communities or the website for the East Central First Nations Education Partnership at www.ecfnep.ca What is the Partnership? Fact Sheet 3 - December 2018

The East Central First Nations Edu- resources was finalized by October. Financial cation Partnership is an incorporated resources began to flow in December of 2017. Education Authority in the province Once the approval of the submission was ob- of Saskatchewan. The incorporation tained and the financial resources confirmed, an of this authority was completed on interim Board of Directors was proposed. It was April 24, 2017. The legal name is decided that the interim Board of Directors of the the East Central First Nations Educa- East Central First Nations Education Authority tion Authority Inc. Inc. would be composed of six persons, with each The East Central First Nations Edu- community appointing two representatives. cation Partnership was established The Chiefs and Council of the three First Nations by three First Nations, Cumberland House Cree wanted to appoint persons to the board who Nation, James Smith Cree Nation and Shoal had experience in the field of education or per- Lake Cree Nation. The impetus for establishing sons who had experience in other fields that the the Education Partnership was a decision by the Board of Directors would require. Chiefs and Councils of the three First Nations who decided to work collaboratively to explore Accordingly, the Cumberland House Cree Nation creating an Education Authority. This decision Chief and Council appointed Abraham Ampon- was made in the late fall of 2016. sah and Marcia Seeseequasis as their represen- tatives. Mr. Amponsah is the Principal at Nisto The purpose was to explore and examine Awasisak Memorial School and has been a senior assuming governance and management of ed- administrator in First Nation schools for more ucation on the three First Nations. The initial than 25 years. step in moving forward with this process was for representatives of the three First Nations The James Smith Cree Nation appointed Randy to discuss with representatives of Indigenous Constant and Faye Head as their interim board Services Canada (ISC) regarding how to pro- members. Mr. Constant is the Principal of the ceed. Officials of Indigenous Services Canada Bernard Constant Community School and a advised that a proposal could be developed member of the James Smith Cree Nation. He and submitted for funding so the process has been a teacher and a senior administrator at could begin. In January of 2017, a proposal Bernard Constant Community School since 2005. was submitted to ISC. Ms. Head is a tral First en N After submission of the proposal, officials of member of the C a ti t Nurture o s n the three First Nations waited patiently for the Peter Chapman a Empower s Band and is the E Future review process of the proposal to occur. There Tre les of aty Artic were unfortunately delays in approving the Director of Finance

proposal. In June of 2017, the representatives for the James Smith E d ip of the three First Nations and officials of ISC Cree Nation. She u h ca rs ti e met face to face to discuss the proposal. In this has worked in the on Par tn meeting, officials of the ISC requested some field of finance for revisions. By September of 2017, the revised more than 20 years. proposal was approved and the flow of financial The Shoal Cree Nation appointed Harold (Butch) number of different communication products so Carriere and Eldon Whitecap as their interim that information sharing could occur in a variety board members. Mr. Carriere is originally from of ways. the village of Cumberland House and is the Prin- The methods that the board is employing to cipal of Wacihk Education Complex. He has been share information with the members of the three a teacher for over 20 years and has spent the last First Nations are newsletters and fact sheets, 13 years at Shoal Lake Cree Nation as a teacher videos displayed on YouTube and on the East and senior administrator. Central First Nation Education Partnership Face- Councillor Eldon Whitecap is a member of the book page and on the Partnership’s website. Shoal Lake Cree Nation and holds the education The main communication tool will be conducting portfolio. He is interested in education and en- open houses, which allows the interim Board of joys working on the education portfolio. Directors and other resource persons to interact directly with the membership. The interim Board of Directors decided that Mr. Constant would be the President of the interim The interim Board of Directors has reviewed the East Central First Nation Education Partnership surveys completed by members at the first round Board of Directors and Mr. Amponsah is the of open houses and is confident that they are on Vice-president. the right track. The interim Board of Directors encourages members to attend the open house Late in 2017, the interim Board of Directors met sessions and looks forward to meeting members and began working diligently to make up for time at these sessions. They welcome questions from lost by the delay in receiving funding from ISC. the membership. The Chiefs and Councils of the three First Nations requested that the board make Information Shar- ing and Community Engagement key priorities. The Chiefs and Councils want the membership to gain awareness of what an Education Au- thority can offer and they want the membership to develop their own understanding about the process. The Chiefs and Councils of the three First Nations want the membership to make an informed decision about whether they want to proceed with developing an Education Authority. The interim Board of Directors decided to be proactive and reach out to the members by or- ganizing open houses to be used to convey both awareness and knowledge about the Education Initiative. The membership of the three First Nations is diverse and the decision was made by the interim Board of Directors to develop a

For further information, please contact: The Principals at the schools located in the three communities or the website for the East Central First Nations Education Partnership at www.ecfnep.ca Benefits of a First Nation Education Authority Fact Sheet 4 - December 2018

The Chiefs and Councils of the three is comparability with provincial funding. This First Nations participating in the East means that an Education Authority will have Central First Nations Education Part- more financial resources to spend per student nership have made the decision to than currently exists when a school is operated explore creating their own Educa- by Chief and Council and funded by Indigenous tion Authority which would operate Services Canada in the usual manner. each of the schools at Cumberland Each of the three communities would benefit from House, James Smith and Shoal Lake a financially enriched education system that would Cree Nations. The elected leadership receive stable, consistent funding. With regular, have provided direction to the interim stable funding, the process can begin to build an Board of the East Central First Nations education system that will benefit all stakeholders Education Partnership to provide community in each community. The goals of the Education members with information on the benefits for Authority would be to enhance the quality and the three First Nations of an Education Authority. relevance of education, increase academic stan- There are a number of stakeholders who have a dards and improve student outcomes, including vested interest in creating a First Nation Educa- retention, completion and graduation rates. tion Authority. Currently, the East Central First More funding per student will result in higher Nations Education Partnership is exploring the student achievement in key areas such as reading, possibility of creating an Education Authori- mathematics and writing. Studies have found that ty. Those with a direct interest in this outcome there is a direct correlation between the quality of are students, parents, teachers, the Chiefs and education and the amount of money spent fund- Councils and collectively the First Nations. ing education. With more financial resources, the The sole role of the Education Authority would Education Authority will be able to offer teachers be the governance and management dedicated a more competitive salary, thus attracting better to education on the three First Nations. The Ed- qualified teachers. Additional financial resources ucation Authority would have a permanent board in the classroom will allow the Education Authority of directors composed of representatives of the to provide up-to-date technology tools to assist

three communities. The board of directors would students with learning. tral First en N C a be accountable to the three communities and the ti t Nurture o In addition, there s n a Empower s Chiefs and Councils of the three communities. E will be the financial Future Tre les of aty The students of a school on-reserve have much resources to offer Artic to gain if the school is operated and managed by more programming,

E d ip an Education Authority instead of by the Chief particularly in areas u h ca rs ti e and Council of a First Nation. Under an Educa- of interest such as on Par tn tion Authority, funding will be provided directly learning the basics to the Authority from Canada and the amount of trades. Culture, provided is based on negotiations whose goal language and traditions can become an integral part of the curriculum and representatives of the Education Authority of a school operated by an Education Authori- in regularly scheduled open houses organized ty. The curriculum can be adapted to the local in each community. Parents could become needs of each community. equal partners with the Board of Directors of the Education Authority in working towards a better Education opportunities can be expanded for education system for each community. the students and regular cultural and recreational activities with nearby schools can be organized Teachers would benefit from an Education Au- so that students begin to interact with members thority in a number of ways. The teachers would of surrounding communities and begin to expand become employees of the Education Authority. their horizons. Other educational opportunities in The salaries of teachers would rise to be on par areas such as the performing arts can be consid- with other teachers in the province of Saskatch- ered and developed. ewan. Teachers would have opportunities for professional growth and professional learning. Early childhood education can be integrated into the community education program so that there An Education Authority such as the East Central is a seamless transition from early childhood edu- First Nations Education Partnership would be cation to primary and secondary education. able to provide its own Second Level Support Services to the three schools. By having its own The Education Authority would be responsible Second Level Support Services based in a central for maintaining the school buildings and ensur- location such as Nipawin, responses would be ing that repairs would be performed in a timely timelier and provide more of a direct service to manner. Prior to taking over management and the students, especially those requiring special- control of Education in the three communities, ized services. the Education Authority would have a qualified firm perform detailed inspections of the three The Chiefs and Councils would benefit from an schools and all deficiencies would have to be Education Authority in a variety of ways. The corrected prior to the Authority assuming re- elected leadership of the three communities sponsibility for the structures. would no longer have the direct responsibility of the governance and management of their schools. Parents would have more confidence in the edu- They would have more time to concentrate on cation system on-reserve if they knew that their other pressing issues on-reserve, knowing that the children would be benefitting from an educa- governance and management of Education was tion system that is tailored to the needs of their in the hands of professionals. Accountability and children. Parents would have less stress and reporting of student achievement would rest with concern about their children’s future knowing the Education Authority and its single focus would that their child would be enrolled in a school be on student achievement. where they would be obtaining a higher student achievement and more opportunities for success. Treaty matters, as it relates to Education, would remain with the three Chiefs and Councils. The opinions of parents could be heard through Chiefs and Councils would deal with the Govern- local education committees and parents could ment of Canada on a nation to nation basis on engage the members of the Board of Directors education Treaty issues.

For further information, please contact: The Principals at the schools located in the three communities or the website for the East Central First Nations Education Partnership at www.ecfnep.ca What is an Open House? Fact Sheet 5 - December 2018

An open house is an event set up in a exchange ideas, answer questions and hand out community to provide information on printed materials. a topic of interest for that commu- In Canada, open houses have a become a pop- nity. It is an informal event where ular way to provide information on a particular people can attend at their leisure, topic to members of an interested community. gather related information that Part of the attraction is that the events usually run they can take home, see informa- over a longer period of time. People with busy tion displays related to the topic, schedules find it easier to attend if the schedule participate in available sessions or is flexible or they can just drop in without notice just ask questions. if a bit of time becomes available. Time slots Printed materials might include news articles, for these events can vary wildly, with times avail- posters or publications from other organizations able from the early morning to the evening. on the topic, responses to commonly asked Because open houses are set up close to the questions and summaries of related facts. The community and in easily accessible locations, information displays can range from posters people find them more convenient and easier to prepared videos, slide shows and comput- to drop in on. The location just needs enough er-generated presentations. space to accommodate the people expected and Brief information sessions are available on re- enough room for the information booths. quest. Knowledgeable people and experts in Open houses have been around since the late the field are usually available to organize small 1990s. A communications professional might discussion groups or to answer questions. An describe an open house as a communication open house is a great opportunity to casually tool or a vehicle used to convey information on and frankly discuss the topic being presented a particular subject to a group of individuals who with both experts and neighbours. Food and should have an interest in the topic. beverages are usually available to help keep people comfortable and to fuel the casual ex- All levels of governments, non-government agen- cies, and a wide variety change of thoughts and ideas. tral First en N C a of industries conduct ti t Nurture o s n The idea of an open house is to get away from a Empower s in-house and public open E Future

the big events where large numbers of people es of Treaty l houses. Communication Artic are exposed to highly structured one-way pre- professionals clearly

sentations that do not allow for an exchange of E d ip understand that an open u h ca rs ideas or for questions. An open house focuses ti e house is one of the most on Par tn on using key resource people who communicate effective ways to accom- with interested individuals and small groups plish both the information of members. The principle objectives are to distribution and the information collection compo- The objectives of a Partnership Open House are to: nents of their jobs. • inform and educate the members about the First Nations in Canada began using open houses Education Initiative; in the late 1990s to reach members both on and • provide information that is factual, accurate, off-reserve. The interim Board of Directors of the relevant and timely to the membership so they East Central First Nations Education Partnership develop an understanding of the Education decided that they wanted to convey information on Initiative; the Education Initiative through open house events. The board believes that open houses are an excel- • provide a casual and non-confrontational setting lent venue to provide information and exchange that creates and builds trust; ideas with members about the Partnership. • listen to the concerns of the members of the Open houses for the Partnership were conducted three First Nations participating in the partner- in Cumberland House Cree Nation on March 7, at ship and have people available and prepared to James Smith Cree Nation March 21 and at Shoal personally answer all questions related to the Lake Cree Nation on March 22, 2018. Education Partnership; and At the open houses, members from the three First • impress on the greatest majority of members Nations received a copy of the first newsletter the importance of becoming informed about produced by the Partnership and reviewed infor- the Education Initiative. mation at their leisure and asked many questions Members attending a Partnership Open House about the Education Initiative. Many took the will be encouraged with a door prize to register newsletter home to read. and to provide their name, address and phone The open houses were held from 2 to 4 pm and number. The main purpose of registration is to from 7 to 9 pm. Many of those attending com- help partnership staff provide additional informa- pleted a survey. The tabulation of the surveys tion, such as when the next open house will take from the three communities can be found on the place in one of the three communities. Partnership’s website at http://www.ecfnep. ca Once on the website, click on the circle Open House Survey Results. When a Partnership Open House is scheduled, on-reserve members are advised of the date, loca- tion, times and topic in posters that are displayed in the community. Advertisements have been aired on local and community radio stations to reach members both on and off-reserve. Off-re- serve members may also be advised by mail just in case they do not have access to advertisements in publications or on local radio. Shoal Lake Cree Nation Open House March 22, 2018

For further information, please contact: The Principals at the schools located in the three communities or the website for the East Central First Nations Education Partnership at www.ecfnep.ca Information Sharing and Community Engagement Fact Sheet 6 - December 2018

The elected leadership of the three ing to the membership relevant and factual infor- Cree Nations participating in the mation on the Partnership, along with Community Education Initiative believe that it is Engagement, meaning listening to the concerns important to inform the membership raised by the membership about the Partnership about all aspects of the initiative to were successful, then an awareness and under- develop a First Nation controlled standing of the Education Initiative would result. education authority. Furthermore, Information Sharing will play a vital role in in- the elected leadership decided prior forming the membership about the Education to forming the Partnership that it Initiative. Information Sharing is about convey- wanted the membership to make an ing information using communication tools or informed decision regarding whether mediums that members prefer. If the members they supported moving forward with like the format and the information being shared, the Education Initiative. The three then understanding of the Education Initia- Cree First Nations participating in the East tive becomes easier. It is critical for members Central First Nations Education Partnership are to develop a clear understanding of what the Cumberland House Cree Nation, James Smith Education Initiative is about and to develop an Cree Nation and Shoal Lake Cree Nation. understanding of what the benefits of the Educa- The leadership of the three Cree Nations also be- tion Initiative would be for their children. lieve that if Information Sharing, meaning convey- Developing a First Nations controlled Educa- tion Authority means that the participating First Nations would be charged with the responsibility of educating their tral First children. If the mem- en N C a ti t Nurture o bership of the three s n a Empower s First Nations make E Future Tre les of aty the decision to move Artic forward with the Edu-

E cation Authority, the d ip u h ca rs next step would be ti e on Par tn Open House at James Smith Cree Nation: Attendees at the open negotiating an agree- house viewed videos about the Partnership including interviews with ment with Canada. members, interviews with leaders and board members on iPads. One of the intents of Information Sharing is Community Engagement on the other hand is to provide the membership with information referred to as a two-way process where informa- material that members can more easily read and tion is again transmitted to an audience using a understand. Communicating a complex subject variety means in either an oral or written format, such as an Education Initiative involves taking the but the difference is the sender wants feedback language and big words and breaking it down or the opinion of the audience on the information into more simple terms using words that are more that was transmitted. commonly used and much easier to understand. The interim Board of the Education Partnership Members of First Nations have indicated in various has decided to employ a variety of activities to polls performed over the years that they prefer to obtain the opinion or feedback from the mem- receive information using a variety of information bership of the three Cree First Nations participat- sharing tools. The Interim Partnership Board has ing in the Education Initiative. One of the main directed Information Sharing to use a variety of activities that the board is using is to conduct tools and activities to convey information. open houses in each of the three communities. Some of the Information Sharing activities will The open houses are, in the opinion of the board, involve producing printed products such as fact an ideal mechanism to provide information direct- sheets, newsletters and posters to carry mes- ly to the membership while receiving comments sages on the Education Initiative. A newsletter from the membership. At the first round of open was produced in March of this year. Posters will houses, the membership asked good questions be produced to advise members when an open and received answers from the resource person- house will be held in their community. nel who attended to the various booths. The interim Board wanted to use social media in Members attending the first round of open a constructive manner, so an East Central First houses were asked to complete a survey. The Nations Education Partnership Facebook page tabulation of the results of the surveys completed has been established. The East Central First Na- in the three communities of Cumberland House tions Education Partnership has uploaded videos Cree Nation, James Smith Cree Nation and Shoal to Youtube and has a website: www.ecfnep.ca Lake Cree Nation are posted on the website. On the website you can view interviews, printed The interim Board is quite pleased with the opin- information and various presentations. As more ions and written comments provided by those products are developed, the products will be members attending an open house. Members uploaded to the website. are encouraged to check out the website. Information Sharing is referred to as a one-way process where information is transmitted to an audience in various formats, using either oral or written means.

For further information, please contact: The Principals at the schools located in the three communities or the website for the East Central First Nations Education Partnership at www.ecfnep.ca Prince Albert Grand Council Second Level Services Fact Sheet 7 - December 2018

The department now called Indige- schools in physical activity for life and Treaty nous Services Canada and known un- education. der various names in the past such as • Education Technology Indian and Northern Affairs Canada The goal of education technology is to sup- has up to now determined what ser- port the three schools and the teachers to de- vices and programs will be funded velop new and engaging technologies as part through the Band-operated Funding of school programs. There are four positions Formulas. Indigenous Services Cana- in this unit, an education technology coordi- da has defined Second Level Services nator, two junior systems administrators and a as support services delivered to First senior systems administrator. Nations schools in place of federal pro- grams or personnel. • Language and Culture The intention of this service is to support the For the Second Level Services, other expenses rich and diverse languages, cultures and tra- covered include core curriculum guidelines and ditions of the three First Nations by inserting support documents for students with physical them in school practices. This service involves issues, spectrum disorders and other special developing and maintaining the Cree lan- needs. In Saskatchewan, these Second Level guage programs at the three schools. Services, as they are commonly referred to as, are most often delivered by Tribal Councils. • Program Administration This service is l Fir The three schools of the East Central First tra st concerned with ef- en N C a ti Nations Education Partnership receive Second t Nurture o s n fective second level a Empower s Level Services from the Prince Albert Grand E service delivery Future Tre les of aty Council (PAGC). PAGC provides Second Level Artic to the three First Services in nine areas. These areas are de- Nations participat- E scribed briefly as the following. These areas are d ip ing in the Educa- u h not in any particular order. ca rs ti e tion Initiative and on Par tn • Add itional Teacher Supports schools to support This service focuses on providing addition- all learners. The al supports to K-12 teachers at the three components of this area are communicating with stakeholders, • Student Retention liaising with allied education organizations, This component’s mandate is to support performing administrative functions, providing schools in creating engaging opportunities professional development and supervision of for all learners. The area of support is for overall direction to education department staff. athletic championships, awards, festivals and sport clinics. • Professional Development Opportunities This Second Level Service is meant to support • Students with Special Needs school-based staff at the three schools with Under this Second Level Service are 12 dif- various current and relevant professional ferent components which cover supporting learning opportunities. Support areas are administrators, parents, teachers and teacher guidance counsellors’ workshops, life space assistants to provide an appropriate education crisis intervention (LSCI) training, professional with the necessary supports for all learners. meetings of groups of teachers, special edu- Positions under Special Needs are: assistive cation focus groups along with other profes- technology consultant, audiologist, educational sional development. psychologists, mental health therapist, occupa- tional therapist, online mental health therapist, • School Success Program program review consultant, special education The supports provided through the School coordinator and special education consultants. Success Program are to support individual First PAGC maintains a deaf and hard of hearing Nation Programs in developing and deliver- partnership with the Deaf and Hard ing their improvement initiatives focusing on of Hearing Society. literacy, numeracy and student retention. The services provided include assessment specialist • Teacher Services supports, data supports, education technology This Second Level Service provides support support and training, the First Nation student to teachers to be effective and innovative success program multi-disciplinary team, perfor- professionals. The assistance provided is mance management and student assessment. in the area of academic program supports, Positions in this area are early literacy consul- liaising with outside agencies, professional tant, early literacy teacher mentor, education in-servicing, program approvals, support to technology specialist, First Nation student suc- local school boards, education commissions, cess program literacy consultant and a program directors and principals, teacher certification specialist, numeracy specialist, student retention and teacher evaluations. specialist and student resource specialist.

For further information, please contact: The Principals at the schools located in the three communities or the website for the East Central First Nations Education Partnership at www.ecfnep.ca Next Steps in creating an Education Authority Fact Sheet 8 - December 2018

When the Chiefs and Councils of the exploring creating an Education Authority. The Cumberland House Cree Nation, feedback the Chiefs and Councils received from James Smith Cree Nation and the the Interim Board of Directors regarding the Shoal Lake Cree Nation decided to variety and quality of questions the member- move forward with exploring and ship asked at the first round of open houses was creating an Education Authority, positive. they knew it would take at least two The variety and quality of questions also showed years to perform the task properly. that the members of the three First Nations have The elected leadership knew that begun to understand why their leadership would one of the most important steps in want to move ahead with the governance and the process of exploring an Education management of education. The final step in the Authority was ensuring that the membership be- process of moving forward with an Education came engaged with the subject. The Chiefs and Authority is for the membership to make an Councils are pleased to see that the membership informed decision on the subject. has become fully engaged in the process. At this point in the process, the Chiefs and There are a number of steps in learning about a Councils believe that more information sharing new process. One is to create an awareness by is required before tral First sharing information in formats that are relevant en N C a all the members ti t Nurture o and accepted by the intended audience. Once s n a have a clear under- Empower s awareness of a subject has been achieved, it E Future Tre les of aty standing of what Artic is important to understand the subject and the benefits of an what advantages an Education Authority would

Education Authori- E d ip means for their communities. The membership u h ty would be for the ca rs of the three First Nations, Cumberland House ti n e three First Nations. on Par t Cree Nation, James Smith Cree Nation and the What the elected Shoal Lake Cree Nation are starting to develop officials know is that an understanding of why their First Nations are the membership has gained a glimpse of what board will be replaced by permanent members the Partnership is attempting to create. There and the board will appoint resource persons to were considerable positive comments about the form a negotiating team. The Board of Directors initiative, along with a growing desire to receive will advise Canada that it wants to proceed with additional information about the process. negotiating an agreement to form an Education Authority for the East Central First Nations Edu- Members who haven’t already done so are en- cation Partnership. couraged to provide their contact information so information can be emailed to them. Members It is anticipated that negotiations could take who are unable to attend can call their commu- between three and six months to complete once nity’s board members to have their questions each party has appointed their representatives to answered. their negotiation teams. The interim Board of Directors plans to publish If negotiations are successful, then the Board of another newsletter which will contain some of Directors will start creating a First Nation Educa- the questions that members have raised and the tion Authority for the Cumberland House Cree answers which were provided by the resource Nation, James Smith Cree Nation and Shoal Lake persons at the information sessions. Cree Nation. After more information sessions are held, one of the questions that will be on the survey will be asking members if they want their Chiefs and Councils of the three First Nations to proceed with moving towards a First Nation Education Authority. If the membership of the three First Nations decides to move towards an Education Authority for the East Central First Nations Education Part- nership, then the work of the Board of Directors will begin in earnest. Current members of the

For further information, please contact: The Principals at the schools located in the three communities or the website for the East Central First Nations Education Partnership at www.ecfnep.ca