Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council’s comprehensive community planning networking team met for the eighth time in Nanaimo over the summer.

Coordinator Gary Reith thought that the gathering saw one of the main goals realized for the CCP team.

“We’ve always endeavoured to make our sessions as interactive as possible, but this one really saw the team starting to communicate and network effectively,” he said.

That probably had a lot to do with the participants from Malahat, Klahoose, Homalco and Snuneymuxw First Nations. But guest presenters Chris Derickson of Westbank First Nation and Jeff Cook of Beringia Community Planning helped get the discussions going in the right direction.

Reith said that a primary goal for holding the quarterly team meetings has always been communications.

“Ever since the start two years ago, we wanted to form a team that could interact with and support each other on items of mutual interest and concern. Another aim was for participants to share information and best practices regarding planning processes in their respective communities.”

The Westbank success story

Chris Derickson has been the CCP coordinator at Westbank First Nation since the start of the year. The first draft of the community’s CCP was published in August.

{quotes align=right}“When I was young, I didn’t care about politics or things like community planning,” said the 29 year old. “But now I can appreciate the quality and foresight of our leadership.{/quotes}

He said it took 20 years of community meetings before Westbank achieved self-government in 2005. The CCP concept was written into the nation’s constitution.

“The vision was that we could do more with what we had and the change has been phenomenal,” said Derickson who also sits on Westbank’s economic development commission. The nation’s economic drivers include extensive retail and commercial developments on the 2,147 hectares of reserve lands. Just over half of Westbank’s 650 members live on reserve along with about 8,500 non-natives.

“Because of development, money is there,” Derickson said. “It’s not perfect, but it’s working,” he said as he spoke about 80 per cent of the band budget coming from own-source revenues.

What is working is what Derickson calls “distributing the economic pie”. Many of the pieces of that pie go back into community services. Westbank has a 63-bed intermediate care facility, daycare and pre-school services, a multi denominational church and a JK-4 school located within the Sensisyusten Community Centre.

Westbank has implemented one of the most comprehensive sets of community laws in Canada. They cover the development and regulation of reserve lands with all people residing or conducting business on reserve are subject to Westbank laws.

The CCP process at Westbank began in early 2007 and is due to be completed by next march.

“We might sound like we’re far ahead, but we’re really just like you,” Derickson told the networking group. “We have our issues.”

One thing that has led to the success of the CCP, he said, was that Westbank decided it didn’t want to bring in a consultant, but wanted a band member. “Consultants can be just another form of dependency. Everything you need can be found within your own communities.”

Always ask ‘Why?’

Jeff Cook has been one of the ‘brains’ behind INAC’s CCP initiative over the past three years. He helped introduce First Nations to CCP concepts and is currently working for the New Relationship Trust looking at CCP best practices.

He led a spirited discussion by reviewing the history of CCP over the past 25 years and reviewed the ways in which efforts by First Nations are being supported through forums, focus groups, training workshops, publications and networking opportunities.

“The networking role can’t be valued enough,” he said. “Building alliances and networks is what makes it work. Theory is important, but it’s on the ground where things happen.”

Cook reminded the networking team that the CCP process never ends, that it’s an on-going holistic undertaking. He listed some of the reasons why communities undertake CCPs including: leaving something for future generations; communities coming together and building a collective voice; and investing in people while taking control over a nation’s destiny.

“All through your CCP, keep asking the question, “Why?” he said. “Take a measured approach, have achievables, promote actions and entrench your CCP into law.”

Economic development vs. CCP

Everyone should have Klahoose First Nation’s problem.

James Delorme, who is coordinating the CCP at Klahoose told networking team members that his biggest problem is money… and not the lack of it.

{quotes align=right}“Economic development is moving at an unbelievable pace it’s hard for community members to keep up with what’s happening with the CCP.”{/quotes}

Revenues are flowing in from the Plutonic Power run-of-river projects in the traditional territory of Klahoose. About 45 members are working on various parts of the project.

“We’re losing people to work in Toba,” Delorme said. “We can’t even keep a janitor.”

Although it’s early days for community planning at Klahoose, the new-found wealth is presenting both challenges and opportunities that Delorme tries to incorporate into the CCP process.

He said that the key thing he’s learned while directing the community planning is that “communication is the key. We have a newsletter and held a summer camp which was all about the CCP”.

A door-to-door survey was started for which Delorme had high expectations. “Sometimes pieces of paper don’t always work. You have to talk with people.”

He’s also found it important that members become engaged with various projects in order that they can buy in to community planning.

“Chief and council are very open to listening to people, so we’re trying our best to get community input,” he said. “If we can get the community to tie in to what’s being done, then they’ll have pride in what’s being accomplished.”

Don’t forget that the CCP is about real people

CCP veteran from Snuneymuxw

The next CCP Networking Team meeting will take place on November 18. The focus of the meetings will be environmental issues, including climate change. For more info contact: Gary Reith, 604-943-6712 or 1-888-382-7711 toll free or email garyr@nautsamawt.com