"Where there is no vision, the people perish". Proverbs 29:18 KJV
When Peters was elected, he held a community meeting to discuss the issues: salary, communications, accountability, transportation, and housing. He developed a 10 year strategic plan.
In his first year, he did not hire a band manager. Instead, he and the councillors read, discussed, and understood all the documentation relating to Glooscap. It was a training exercise in how things should be done.
In the second year, council met four days a week and discussed the economic and fisheries challenges. An independent group determined the salaries and took their findings to council and to the community.
They would hire good qualified people for fisheries, economic development, and a director of administration but not necessarily band members. Jobs would be advertised. A board would interview applicants and make recommendations. Pay would be reasonable with a pension plan and medical/dental coverage.
The next opportunity is through economic development. Peters, the council, the community, and people outside the community are working on this. Peters knows the advantages of economic development but he does not want it to manipulate or run the community.
The future looks bright for the Glooscap First Nations. Peters was asked to join NOW OR NEVER. Currently there are 29 First Nations students in the province attending post secondary school educational institutions and 92 who have graduated at that level. Peters' aim is to partner in their futures and to bring them back to work for First Nations.
If a visionary is a person with varied experiences, an open mind, an ability to learn from the past, to live in the present in order to make improvements for the future, then Chief Sidney Peters of Glooscap First Nation qualifies.
When his sister Shirley Clarke did not reoffer as chief of Glooscap, Sidney let his name stand in the 2012 election. A financial scandal had shaken the community. He wanted to become chief in order to clear the Peters name, to win the support of the community, and to build its self-respect.
Prior to the election, Peters met with the 75 members who live on the reserve. He asked what they needed and how he could help. Of the 344 members of the reserve, approximately 269 live off the reserve in the Annapolis Valley, Saint John New Brunswick, and Rochester, Maine. He met with them and asked them the same questions. And he was elected.
Prior to being elected, he had 25 years experience managing and financing projects both in First Nations organizations and in government departments. He learned that government will spend millions of dollars, go into a community, do the work to make it sustainable, and then leave. His vision became to develop the abilities of the people in the communities to do the work themselves.
When his sister Shirley Clarke did not reoffer as chief of Glooscap, Sidney let his name stand in the 2012 election. A financial scandal had shaken the community. He wanted to become chief in order to clear the Peters name, to win the support of the community, and to build its self-respect.
Prior to the election, Peters met with the 75 members who live on the reserve. He asked what they needed and how he could help. Of the 344 members of the reserve, approximately 269 live off the reserve in the Annapolis Valley, Saint John New Brunswick, and Rochester, Maine. He met with them and asked them the same questions. And he was elected.
Prior to being elected, he had 25 years experience managing and financing projects both in First Nations organizations and in government departments. He learned that government will spend millions of dollars, go into a community, do the work to make it sustainable, and then leave. His vision became to develop the abilities of the people in the communities to do the work themselves.
When Peters was elected, he held a community meeting to discuss the issues: salary, communications, accountability, transportation, and housing. He developed a 10 year strategic plan.
In his first year, he did not hire a band manager. Instead, he and the councillors read, discussed, and understood all the documentation relating to Glooscap. It was a training exercise in how things should be done.
In the second year, council met four days a week and discussed the economic and fisheries challenges. An independent group determined the salaries and took their findings to council and to the community.
They would hire good qualified people for fisheries, economic development, and a director of administration but not necessarily band members. Jobs would be advertised. A board would interview applicants and make recommendations. Pay would be reasonable with a pension plan and medical/dental coverage.
The next opportunity is through economic development. Peters, the council, the community, and people outside the community are working on this. Peters knows the advantages of economic development but he does not want it to manipulate or run the community.
The future looks bright for the Glooscap First Nations. Peters was asked to join NOW OR NEVER. Currently there are 29 First Nations students in the province attending post secondary school educational institutions and 92 who have graduated at that level. Peters' aim is to partner in their futures and to bring them back to work for First Nations.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comments. I will publish anonymous comments at my discretion.
-Heather