FORT CHIPEWYAN COMMUNITY PROFILE AND ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS 1995- 1996 Special Acknowledgment To the Elders of the Mikisew Cree First Nation, the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and the Metis Local of Fort Chipewyan: "Thou who art truly the living testament to the past, the wisdom of today and the vision of the future. The treasured foundation of all that we are today, the true spirit of the people and the portal to eternal existence. Thou art the essence of all thine legacies that exist today and the light of the dawning future." A special expression of gratitude for the Elders who so kindly and willingly participated in this project and whose experience and wisdom imparted a depth to the entire undertaking and the desired results. To the people, the leaders and the stakeholder groups of Fort Chipewyan for their sincere input and comments in the spirit of mutual cooperation and community unity, this profile, I trust, will truly do justice for your contribution. To the Suncor Inc., for your patience and understanding of the circumstances and situation under which this project was undertaken and completed. To the Leaders and the People of the Mikisew Cree First Nation for your steadfast faith and trust in my abilities to undertake a responsibility of this magnitude. I trust and hope this profile will confirm and support your position. A special thanks to Dawn Waquan for her contribution to the history section of the profile and whose insight and experience enhanced the input and wisdom of our Elders. In closing, to mine Elder, Archie Simpson, my deepest gratitude for your quiet strength, encouragement, wisdom and the sanctity of your home. To his great-grand daughter, Kandi Simpson, a sincerest appreciation and love for your eternal youthful optimism and faith in my ability to fulfill the expectations of Suncor Inc .. Joseph R. deCardinale Technical Advisor Mikisew Cree First Nation June 1, 1996 FORT CHIPEWYAN COMMUNITY PROFILE & ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS 1995 -1996 Table of Contents No. Subject Page 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY______________ _ -1- CHAPTER 1: HISTORY OF FORT CHIPEWYAN Table of Contents ____________________. a( I) CHAPTER 2: LOCAL ECONOMICS 1 Regional Characteristics_______________ _ b-1 2 Geographical Location ________________ b-2 3 The Indigenous People ________________ b-2 4 Regional Resources _________________ b-3 Government Industry ______________ 1) Federal Government, ____________ b-4 a Wood Buffalo National Park _______ b-4 b Health and Welfare _________ b-4 c Royal Canadian Mounted Police _____ b-4 d Dept. of Indian and Northern Affairs ____ b-5 e Coast Guard Canada _________ b-5 2) Provincial Government ___________ b-5 a Alberta Forestry ___________ b-5 b Alberta Environment________ _ b-5 c Alberta Fish and Wildlife ________ b-6 d Alberta Transportation _________ b-6 e Other Provincial agencies, _______ b-6 3) First Nations_~--=---~-------- b-6 a Mikisew Cree First Nation _______ b-6 b Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation _____ b-7 4) Education _______________ b-7 Traditional __________________ b-7 Local Business ________________ b-8 Conclusion _______________________ b-8 ( i ) Table of Contents No. Page CHAPTER 3: EMPLOYMENT AND WORK FORCE a Relocation Trends_~~---------- c-1 b Seasonal Employment Trends _________ c-2 ( i ) Commercial Fishing Season _______ c-2 (ii) Fire Fighting ____________ c-3 1 The Local Work Force _______________ c-3 2 Total of Existing Local Employment Positions _______ c-3 3 Total Adult Student Figure _____________ c-4 4 Syncrude Employees. _______________ c-4 5 Traditional Occupations ______________ c-4 A The Local Employment Rate _______________ c-4 #1 Inclusion of the Relocation Factor_______ _ c-4 #2 Exclusion of the Relocation Factor_______ _ c-5 II 1 Averaging ___________________ c-5 B The Local Unemployment Rates ______________ c-5 C Classification of Local Employment Positions __________ c-6 D Summaries of Community Sector Inventories. __________ c-7 1 Government Agencies. _______________ c-7 2 Indigenous c-8 a t\1ikisev.J Cree First f'~ation c-8 b Athabasca Chipewyan First-------------- Nation ________ c-9 3 Community Businesses ______________ c-9 4 Community Agencies _______________ c-10 5 Community Education _____. _________ _ c-10 Local Labor Force Relevancy to the Oil Sands Industry ______ c-11 · 1 Relevancy Totals by Designation ___________ c-11 2 Relevancy Totals by Sector Origin:::::------------- c-12 3 Determination of the Applicability Factor________ _ c-12 ,.._1 ":\ a Public Servants Background v-- t'bl' b KeymanFactor ___________________ c-13 c Skill Level ___________________. c-14 d The Actual Statistical Relevancy Percentile~.---~ c-14 F Local Work Force Enhancement Requirements. _________ c-15 1 Local Enhancement Requirements c-15 2 Relevancy Enhancement Requirements_________ _ <>16 a Regional Stakeholders~~~~----~-----·--~-~~~·~···· c-16 b Regional ~->""'"'""'"',.."':--::::::--:-~-----------~· c-16 c Regional Economic c-16 G The Emerging Work Force of Fort Chipewyan c-17 ( ii) Table of Contents No. Subject Page CHAPTER 3: EMPLOYMENT AND WORK FORCE continued H Local Employment Inventory 1 Designations. _______________ c-18 A Government Agencies ______________ c-19 B Indigenous Groups _______________ c-21 C Community Businesses ______________ c-24 D Community Agencies-:---:---:------------- c-27 E Community Education lnstitutions_~--------- c-28 G MCFN Corporations Outside of Fort Chipewyan c-29 CHAPTER 4: THE BUSINESSES OF FORT CHIPEWYAN A Local Businesses lnventory_-:--------------- d-1 B Relevancy to Oil Sands Industries _____________ d-5 1 Direct Relevancy_-:--------------- d-5 ( i ) Latent Potential ______________ d-5 ( ii ) Real Participation _____________ d-6 2 Impact and Effect.~--------------- d-6 c Community Business Requirements ____________ d-7 1 Retail _______--:---------------- d-7 2 Leisure and Recreation ______________ d-7 3 Wholesale __________________ d-7 CHAPTER 5: DEMOGRAPHICS OF FORT CHIPEWYAN A Community Population bY. Ethic Origin ____________ e-2 B Community Indigenous Population by Gender________ _ e-2 c Community Indigenous Population by Age e-2 D Fort Chipewyan 1990 Census 1 Total Population by Gender____________ _ e-3 2 Housing ___________________ e-3 3 Density ___________________ e-3 4 Population by Age ________________ e-4 5 Length of Residency _______________ e-4 6 Employment Location ______________ e-4 7 Employment Status _______________ e-5 8 Type of Industry ________________ e-5 E Linguistic Overview_________________ _ e-6 F Population Trends __________________ e-6 1 Government Agencies ______________ e-6 2 Education_-:----:-:-------------- e-7 3 Employment Opportunities. _____________ e-7 CHAPTER 6: HUMAN SERVICES A Education _______--:--:----:---:-:---:---:-::--::-::-:-------- f-1 1 Athabasca Delta Community School (ADCS) _______ f-1 2 Keyano College (Fort Chipewyan Satellite Campus) _____ f-2 ( iii ) Table of Contents No. Subiect Page CHAPTER 6: HUMAN SERVICES continued 3 Sahpohtawahk Training Center__________ _ f~2 4 Indian Education Authority Ltd .. ___________ f~2 Hea~h ________________________________________ B f~2 1 The lsobel and Noel McKay Healing Center______ _ f~2 2 The Fort Chipewyan Nursing Station, __________ f~5 c Law Enforcement.__________________ _ f~5 1 R.C.M.P .. __________________ f~5 2 Provincial Court. ________________ f-5 D Emergency Services. ___________________ f~5 1 Fort Chipewyan Fire Hall. _____________ f-5 2 Ambulance Service _______________ f~6 3 Emergency Medi~Vac Services _________~-- f~6 E Employment Services.________________ _ f~6 F Elder Services.___________________ _ f-6 G f-9 H f-11 I Current f-11 ·1 Local Content. _________________ f-11 2 Resource Application _______________ f-11 3 Community Needs Awareness. ____________ f~12 J Outstanding Community Human Services Needs_______ _ f~12 1 Community Youth Needs____________ _ f-12 2 Community Education Needs___________ _ f-13 CHAPTER 7: FORT CHIPEWYAN INFRASTRUCTURE Water_____________________ _ A g~1 B Sewer Services_____________________ __ g-1 c Sanitation Services_________________ _ g~1 D Electricity____________________ _ g~2 E g~2 F Telephones___________________ _ g~2 G g~2 H Recreation. _____________________ g-2 I g-3 j Community ~..a,,c;:,•uc g-3 K Health g~3 L Other Community g-3 M Fort Chipewyan Fire g-4 N Community Infrastructure g-4 0 Community Infrastructure Requirements.__________ _ g~6 p g-7 CHAPTER 8: TRADITIONAL DELTA LIFESTYLES AND USE 1 ( iv) Table of Contents No. Subject Page CHAPTER 8: TRADITIONAL DELTA UFESTYLES AND USE continued d Traditional food and Medicinal Plant Gathering ___ h-2 2 Delta Residences______________ _ h-2 3 Traditional Waterways. ______________ h-2 4 Tourism---:~---::-::-~'":'"':":--:----:---------- h-3 A Preclusions to Traditional Delta Lifestyles and Use _______ h-3 1 Bennett Dam _________________ h-3 2 Pollution h-4 CHAPTER 9: FORT CHIPEWYAN SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS Fort Chipewyan Social Organizations ____________ i-1 A Stakeholder Groups of Fort Chipewyan. ___________ i-4 B Ethnic Groups of Fort Chipewyan-:---:---:------------ i-4 c Fort Chipewyan Based Bodies of Authority __________ i-5 D Inter-Community Bodies of Authority ____________ i-5 CHAPTER 10: CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS A Social Values ___________________ j-1 B Ethics ______________________ j-2 c Community Issues __________________ j-2 D Community Goals __________________ j-3 E ldeology..,._-------------------- j-3 F Leisure Pursuits. __________________ j-3 G Notable Changes. __________________ j-4 CHAPTER 11: ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS 1 The Indigenous