Who You Callin' Indian? Part 1

A Series By Jennifer David

As a member of Chapleau Cree First Nation, and as consultant who's worked in and with Aboriginal people my entire career, I think I have seen and heard all of the possible variations of terms that people use to describe us.

Do you sometimes wonder what in the world you should do when you want to talk to an indigenous/Aboriginal/native/Indian person? Do you ever worry about which term is acceptable in which circumstances? You're not alone. And here's why: there's no hard and fast rule, and no agreement among indigenous/Aboriginal/native/Indian persons about appropriate terminology.

So over the next few weeks, I'll be presenting a weekly, non-dogmatic, light-hearted lexicon for those of you who work in this arena and would like a primer on taxonomy. Please note that these are strictly my own opinions, offered here for your amusement and enlightenment. I am in no way an etymologist, anthropologist, linguist, historian, or scholar - just an Indian First Nation First Nations Aboriginal Indigenous writer interested in words and people.

Let's start things off with the Biggie.

INDIAN.

Kitikmeot Inuit Association Supports Nunavut Media Centre

Kitikmeot Inuit Association President Charlie Evalik presented a $200,000 cheque to Madeleine d’Argencourt, president of the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation (IBC). The money is KIA’s contribution in support of IBC’s Building Campaign for the Nunavut Media Arts Centre – the first full-scale, state-of-the-art, digital audio, video, recording, performance and post production facilities in Nunavut. The new IBC building, which is scheduled to be completed during the summer of 2013, will bring media arts in Nunavut to a new internationally-competitive level of production service and capacity.

“IBC’s Board of Governors truly appreciates the support that KIA has shown to our regional office in Taloyoak over the past fifteen years, and now their foresight in looking ahead to develop Media Arts as a thriving industry in Nunavut’s future,” said d’Argencourt.

jBrad's Stuff You Didn't Know: Silence, Please.

According to Gordon Hempton, the most recent addition to the Endangered Species List may be — silence.

Hempton is an Emmy Award winning nature sound recordist who has produced more than 60 albums of natural soundscapes.  He’s traveled Earth recording everything from the clattering shuffle of freight trains to nocturnal symphonies of chirrups and clicks in forests across the planet. And his experience has convinced him that noise pollution is inundating the world.

He now says there are "...only twelve places left in the U.S. where it’s possible to have fifteen minutes during daylight hours unintruded upon by noise pollution.”

The picture above shows you one of them: a small red-colored stone deep in Olympic National Park, a little more than 3 miles away from the Visitor’s Center on the the Hoh River, marking the quietest place in the United States. It's the centerpiece of his one square inch of silence project; check it out. Quietly.



h/t to Ben Bowlin | May 18, 2011 (Stuff to Change The World), from the “How Stuff Works” Website

The Mystery Tat and the Constitution

Last Week's Poll: What Shall We Post?

Last week we invited you, Constant Reader, to choose which jewel from our brimming vault of unpublished gems you most wanted to see published. We offered you five choices. Here's what you wanted to see.

  

6% asked for: The pirated Avatar II Trailer, in glorious 3D blog-o-vision.

8% asked for: Cher's unpublished memoir about her two year secret, stormy relationship with Ron Ryan.

10% asked for: Ariadne and Drucker - A Business Plan in Verse, by Margaret Atwood

33% asked for: The videotape of Donald Trump's job interview when he applied to be Consilium CEO.

And a whopping 44% asked for Jennifer Bradshaw's Secret Tattoo.

Ask, and ye shall receive.

This Week's Poll: Amending the Constitution

This week Ottawa pundits are discussing the real and potential implications of a Conservative majority, including the opportunity it provides the current government to introduce significant constitutional reform in several key areas - Senate restructuring, the inclusion of Quebec, Charter reform, and other important issues.

Wow. Ever boring. Surely we can do better than that.

Tell you what. We're offering you, Constant Readers, a chance to select your own preferred area of Constitutional Reform, and at the end of the week, we'll forward your favourite to the Prime Minister for consideration. Which of the following Constitutional changes would you most like to see?

1) Mandatory participation by at least one Canadian team in every Stanley Cup Final Series?

2) Legislated minimum wintertime temperatures?

3) Mandatory Plain Language Clause for Weird Coffees at Starbucks?

3) Provincial status granted to St. Lucia?

4) Anti-cobra clause?

Is this not a democracy? Damn right. Be heard. Vote now. 

The West Coast Comes Calling

Yes, consulting is a lonely, joyless and exhausting way of life, fraught with peril, long hours, grueling assignments, and...hey, wait a minute, I think this is the wrong picture.

Marla Limousin and Chris Grosset in a bitter argument about utlization of secondary GPS Data in cultural mapping.

This week we had the pleasure of welcoming friend, colleague and associate Marla Limousin to corporate HQ. It was Marla's first visit to St. Crispin Towers, and her first meeting with many of our staff - a very odd encounter for some of us, who feel as though we've known her for years through the newsletter and our dozens of projects together.

As a consummately social person, Marla scrupulously observed the First Commandment of Good Guesthood, which, of course, is "Bring Wine." And this wine -as the bottles pictured above attest - was special indeed. Marla and husband George Ehrler operate Blue Moon Winery, a truly wondrous facility in Courtenay BC. Marla writes:

We just heard the results of the Northwest Wine Summit Wine Competition! There were over 1100 wines entered this year, and represent the best in the Pacific Northwest. We entered 11 wines and won 9 awards!! 2 golds - Orion and Singularity. 1 silver for Eclipse and 6 bronze for Aurora, Sundog, Soleil, Moonbeam, Dusk and Lunacy. I wish you could all taste them!

So do we, Marla. Come back soon, often, and bearing wine, and we'll do our best.

Kiva Featured Borrowers Group: Sokhoen's Group in Kampuchea

Mrs. Sokhoen's group, Kampuchea

Consilium believes economic, social and cultural development are linked, and we believe all three forms of development  must be supported at the local, regional, national and international levels. That's why we support Kiva, a non-profit organization that connects people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva enables individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.

The Consilium Group is currently supporting several projects. One is the initiative led by Mrs. Sokhoen, shown above.

Don't Panic!

And thanks for all the fish.

Happy Towel Day!

Revitalizing Anishinaabemowin in Ontario

"Sometimes we need to plant the seeds of trees that will not shade us, but will shade our grandchildren."

The words of a Maori elder in New Zealand about the importance of holding onto their ancestral language summarize the recommendations that Stonecircle provided last week to Mamaweswen, the North Shore Tribal Council regarding the revitalization of their language, Anishinaabemowin (Ojibway).

Mamaweswen contracted Stonecircle to develop strategy options for the revitalization of the language among the communities that make up the tribal council, which are seven First Nations between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie along the north shore of Lake Huron.

The use of language in these communities, as is the case throughout most of Aboriginal Canada, is in a precarious state. There are few speakers, most of them older, with few opportunities to speak or learn the language. But Mamaweswen wants to change that.

Over the last year, Jennifer David and Kory Goulais logged in many kilometres conducting interviews and focus groups in the communities, meeting with Chiefs, elders, educators, language teachers,and others. Terry Rudden ably led the team, edited the final report, and presented it to the Mamaweswen Board of Directors on May 11 in Batchewana First Nation.

The main finding: immersion. The most successful language programs comprise some element of immersion, ideally for children and adults, both short and long term. These immersion programs - language nests, master/apprentice programs, K-8 immersion schools - have proven to help communities and individuals as diverse as the Maori and the Irish to revitalize languages once thought irretrievably lost.

jBRaD's Things You Didn't Know: Why do we say, "sleep tight"?

Why do we say, "sleep tight"?

There are two explanations. The first, from "Uncommon Goods":

In the days before box springs, mattresses were supported by taught ropes, stretched between bed frame rails. When ropes loosened over time, mattresses lost support and sagged, making bedtime particularly uncomfortable. Tightly pulled ropes became synonymous with restful sleep, hence the nighttime saying "sleep tight!" .

Fun answer, eh? Unfortunately, history has a way of spoiling cool explanations. That old spoilsport, the Oxford English Dictionary, provides a much more prosaic explanation.

"It seems that tight in this expression is the equivalent of the only surviving use of the adverb tightly meaning 'soundly, properly, well, effectively'."

No ropes, no saggy mattresses, no bedbugs. Sorry 'bout that. But now you know.

Search And Rescue: Helen's Summer, Episode 3

Excerpted from Helen's email message:

I’m back in Kugluktuk. I just came back from a search and rescue; my niece’s husband Ronald Angohiatok went missing while goose hunting, so all my brothers and I went and joined the search. I loaned my machine to one of my brothers for the search (part of his muffler had come off). I went to stay with my sister and niece at Klengenberg Bay to be with them in case he was found not alive.

It was crazy in the cabin - three kids, three adults, waiting, every once in a while crying, especially on the last day. I was trying to keep positive and make sure the kids were eating. We finally decided it was best to go back into Kugluktuk and wait there.

As we were traveling back, we went by Cape Kendall, you will see on the map, David Enogaloak's cabin. As we were passing by I saw David waving his arms wildly, but our drivers didn't see him. I was on one sled and my sister and niece on another, and we finally got the drivers’ attention. We thought maybe David was in trouble.

But no, it was good news – they had found Ronald. David had heard on the VHF radio, there was a dispatch for the S&R and she relayed the message to him to tell to flag us down when we passed by. What a joyous occasion.

It was the usual story: no gear, weather went bad, got lost, spent two nights in a blizzard, crouched for warmth. One more night and he would have been in real trouble.

But the Search and Rescue guys here have to be the best. What trackers! They found his snowmobile tracks, recognized Ronald's tracks, and stuck to them. The storm picked up, and the two who found the tracks had to turn back because they were getting soaking wet. They marked it with a GPS point and the rest of the crew went to camp at that site. It was only 3 kilometers from Ronald: however they didn't find him until the next morning.

The S&R was led by Jack Himiak, Joanne Klengenberg’s husband. The team members were Isaac Klengenberg (the brother I lent my machine to), Stanley Klengenberg, Danny Klengenberg, George Egotak (Agnes’ husband), George Kapolak, Darren Ihumatak, Andrew Bell, and John Kapakatoak. Some tracked and some scoped: the scopers found him. I want to praise them all, especially the dispatching and relaying messages to by Joanne Klengenberg. Good job.

It was storming all the time, and whiteout. As soon as Ronald was found, the storm stopped, as if it was turned off. The sky just opened up. It was as if it had been defeated.

When they found him he was soaking wet. Good thing I left my clothes in the sled as I thought Ronald might need dry clothes, and so I left my survival suit in as well. The search and rescue team had no extra clothes with them, so that stuff came in handy.

Apart from that, just a normal week. Right now I am stuck for the long weekend in Kugluktuk writing a couple of proposals that are due on Tuesday. Until next time!

Thanks, Vicky! Your Historical Guide to the Long Weekend

Let us pause for a moment on this Friday, as the prospect of the Victoria Day Long Weekend stretches glorious before us, rich with promise, and reflect on the monarch to whom we owe our three-day break. Here's a bit of Victoriana for your contemplation as you prepare the garden, the barbecue, or whatever rite of spring you'll be practicing.

1. She NEVER said "We are not amused", and was said by her family to have an excellent sense of humour.
2. On the throne for 63 years and 7 months, she ruled longer than any other female monarch in history, anywhere.
3. Although she and her husband (and first cousin), Albert, had nine children, she hated being pregnant, viewed breast-feeding with disgust, and thought newborn babies were ugly. She confided:"I positively think that those ladies who are always enceinte are quite disgusting; it is more like a rabbit or a guinea pig than anything else and really it is not very nice." 
4. Victoria was an accomplished artist and produced many paintings and sketches.
5. The term "Victorian" has become synonymous with the notion of sexual repression; that, however, was not reflective of Victoria's attitudes, but those of Albert. According to the Duke of Wellington, Albert was "extremely straitlaced and a great stickler for morality whereas she was rather the other way."
   
 

All righty, then! Dazzle your friends and family with these factoids, have a great long weekend, and we'll talk again next Tuesday.

Talking to Curve Lake

Alex Ker interviews Lenore Haddlesey, Personal Support Worker, Senior's Centre, Curve Lake First Nation

Stonecircle can now say with authority that it is possible to interview 80 people in the space of four days.  

Jennifer David, Kory Goulais and Alex Ker are at Curve Lake First Nation this week talking to every staff member, every manager and every councilor to learn more about the First Nation.  Stonecircle is gathering information as part of the organizational review of Curve Lake.  Alex and Jennifer will help facilitate a community meeting on Friday night to meet with Curve Lake members and gather local input about views on their community.

From the Travel Journal of Victor Tootoo...

Victor Tootoo

My my, how time flies…. It seems like only last week I was in Kugluktuk with the weather threatening to keep me and the group I was facilitating there for an extra weekend. But due to swift and decisive action by the Inuit Uqausinginnik Taiguusiliuqtiit Language Authority (Taiguusiliuqtiit) and staff, we were whisked away by First Air to the warmth and comfort of Yellowknife to finish our important meetings. This was, of course, the strategic planning session for the Taiguusiliuqtiit. We were lucky to get to Yellowknife and finish our meetings as there was indeed a blizzard in Kugluktuk; but the Coppermine Inn’s pellet stove kept us warm while waited although it was below -30 outside for the duration of our stay.

Coppermine Inn’s pellet stove

This month marks the finalization of that project with the strategic plan delivered, reviewed, and very soon to be distributed. Aarluk and CLEY have worked on a number of successful projects recently; this one featured Terry Rudden as our semi-nomadic wise man and myself pursuing our traditional nomadic lifestyle by facilitating in both Kugluktuk and Yellowknife in the same week. The IUT was a great group to work with, and one of the first times I’ve had the honour of facilitating for unilingual elders. A big thanks to the Taiguusiliuqtiit director and staff for allowing me to be understood when I was unable to converse in Inuktitut as well as to all involved for being flexible enough to continue the meeting in a separate location. All's well that ends well :)

Coppermine Inn

One Word Movie Reviews

THOR: an excellent description of how your butt will feel after nearly two hours of bellowing Asgardian beefcake and stuff gettin' blowed up real good.

Axel Heiberg Community Consultations

Fossilized trees on Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut

Aarluk has been working for several months with the Government of Nunavut, Department of Environment to prepare a background study on the fossil forest sites on Axel Heiberg Island and Ellesmere Island. In the next two weeks consultations will be held in Grise Fiord (May 27) and Resolute Bay (May 30) to give the community members an opportunity to discuss the research data that has been collected on the sites, and provide input into how these mummified and petrified tree, plant, animal and insect fossils can be preserved for the future.

On the Artistic Front...

On the rare occasions when we unleash Chris Grosset from his desk, one of the activities he enjoys is working with local artists to showcase their art in a gallery set in a field in eastern Ontario. For four years, fieldwork has presented work by eighteen artists in exhibits for the public in this outdoor space, with work changing every season of the year. The current season of installations is now in place, with five works on display for the summer, including a piano played by the blowing wind. Chris’ contribution to the project this year is the interpretative signage placed around the field to explain the art work and provide an educational context about the project for fieldwork visitors.

jBrAD's things you didn't know



Courtesy of http://www.nature.com/

Why is 2 p.m. the best hour for increasing alertness?
At that exact hour of the day, melatonin (the sleep hormone) is at its highest level, making it an ideal time for taking a nap. A 20-minute power nap regenerates brain cells and energy levels, leaving you refreshed and alert. Just make sure to set a timer: anything longer than 20 minutes can shift the body into deep sleep--which, if interrupted mid-sleep cycle, can leave you groggier than before your shut-eye.

Credit: http://www.uncommongoods.com/

Përshëndetje për Shqipërinë!

Durres, Albania

We've been tracking the whereabouts of Consilium globe trotter and evaluationologist Galin Kora by hits on the blog from unusual locations, and so we know he arrived back in Albania to visit friends and family on the weekend.

Galin, ju lutem përcjellë përshëndetjet tona dhe dëshiron të mira në Shqipëri dhe të prindërve tuaj, dhe tregoni atyre se si ne jemi krenar për të punuar me ju.

DON'T DO IT, KORY, and Yes, We Do Requests.

Last Week's Poll: Wedding Day Baseball

Last week we took advantage of your collected wisdom to help us set Stonecircle researcher Kory Goulais on the path to eternal wedded bliss by advising him on the critical question: should Kory play baseball on his wedding day?
  

You responded as follows:

18% said: Duh. Of course. Why not?

18% said: Yes, if he leaves time to shower.

7% said: No. He should golf. 

10% said: No. Focus on the wedding. 

And a impressive 44% said: Yes, but only if you want to be reminded about it for the rest of your married life

Did he play or not? We'll know on Monday.

This Week's Poll: Yes, We Do Requests

In referring to Blogger's unfortunate (and still unexplained) outage last week, we made humorous reference to a number of articles which had been posted and regrettably lost in the system failure. These were:
- a pirated trailer for James Cameron's Avatar sequel, in 3d
- the true story of Ron Ryan's six year hush-hush affair with Cher
- an unpublished poem by Margaret Atwood on preparing business plans for small and medium-sized enterprises
- Jen Bradshaw's secret tattoo (NSWF)
- a copy of the selection committee's report from Donald Trump's interview with Consilium for the General Manager position.


Well, two readers wrote in to inquire whether we'd be reposting these. Unfortunately the pressure of time and deadlines will not permit the Herculean task of resurrecting ALL these posts from the Blogger Cache. However, if you can tell us which ONE of the above you most want to see, we'll do our best to restore it and post it next Monday.

A Great Renewable Northern Resource

A tip for folks interested in circumpolar and Inuit issues, both Canadian and international.  Communications Guru Marcel Mason of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami prepares a daily summary of Arctic news from various sources and emails it out to subscribers upon request.  If you'd like to receive it free of charge, just email him at mediamonitoring@itk.ca and ask to be added to the list.

Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted...

It seems Blogger, our web host, has taken a short vacation.  Read all about it here. Stand by - we're trying to resurrect some of the wonderful posts we tried to put up during the outage, including:
- a pirated trailer for James Cameron's Avatar sequel, in 3d
- the true story of Ron Ryan's six year hush-hush affair with Cher
- an unpublished poem by Margaret Atwood on preparing business plans for small and medium-sized enterprises
- Jen Bradshaw's secret tattoo (NSWF)
- a copy of the selection committee's report from Donald Trump's interview with Consilium

Keep checking back.

Return to Kimmirut

How do you know a client likes your work? Because they invite you back.

We just learned that the community of Kimmirut has approved an Aarluk proposal to update their community economic development plan. Aarluk completed Kimmirut's first plan five years ago; but time, circumstances and the economic and social environment changes, and Kimmirut has wisely decide to update their.

An Aarluk team led by the recently-back-from-Vegas Ron Ryan and ably supported by David "Scribbles" Boult and the Geoff "Big Rig" Rigby will be conducting the plan update. Upon hearing about the successful proposal, Ron was heard to say “The golfing will be challenging but the people are great, thank you, thank you very much” (in his best Elvis impersonation). David was last seen shuffling through a basement storage area muttering something about missing char lures.

Game On in Montreal!



View from Victor's hotel room (not the Bell Centre)

After a one day weather delay, it was game on in Montreal. Nope, it wasn't the Habs playing, nor was it at the Bell Centre. It was a more momentous pairing that that - Stonecircle and Aarluk Consulting teaming up for the first time south of 60 at the Aboriginal Human Resource Council’s annual Inclusion Works, “Canada’s biggest indigenous inclusion event and recruitment fair” which ran from May 3rd to 5th 2011 in downtown Montreal at Le Centre Sheraton.

AHRC is one of Stonecircle's longest standing clients, and our involvement in this year's conference was particularly interesting.  Jennifer David and Kory Goulais of Stonecircle had prepared twenty case studies for the executive learning and collective problem solving sessions. Victor Tootoo facilitated the plenary session on the morning of Wednesday, May 4th, which incorporated two separate panel sessions and presenters from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure as well as the PTI Group. There were a total of 14 breakout sessions in the afternoon, one of which was presented by Victor on the Government of Nunavut’s efforts to achieve its Inuit Employment Plan targets as mandated under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.

Congratulations to AHRC, as always, on a job well done, and Kudos to the Stonecircle/Aarluk collaboration. We know it will help ease Victor's pain at the regrettable demise of the Preds. 

Tourist Attraction Voted Least Likely to Attract Consiliumites

Yes, that's exactly what we've always wanted to do - walk about the OUTSIDE of the CN tower.

Coming next: the Niagara Falls Barrel Cruise.

CN Tower to offer outside pod walk - Canada - Canoe.ca

How Do You Save A Language?

In Canada and around the world, many of the world's oldest languages - those spoken by indigenous peoples - are disappearing. With English becoming the global language of business, science, media and the internet, fewer and fewer Aboriginal languages can sustain the critical number of fluent speakers able to ensure that a language can be passed on.


Languages can be reclaimed; peoples as diverse as the Maori and the Irish have successfully introduced comprehensive, long-term programs that seem to be turning the tide in the fight to preserve their language. And many groups in Canada are learning from and building on their experience, from the Inuit Language Protection Act in Nunavut to the Anishinaabek, Mushkegowuk, Onkwehonwe Language Commission of Ontario.

So what ARE the factors that can save a language? Studies suggest that all successful language retention strategies share the following:

1. Clear recognition on the part of the community that the language is under threat, and agreement that urgent action is required;
2. A group of people with a strong vision and determination to make a difference within a short period of time. These language leaders can be at the local, regional or national level;Immersion language teaching environments;
3. A plan that sets out and co-ordinates a number of different strategies that, together, can protect and promote a language;  
4. Strong education programs for young people to develop their language skills to the fullest;  
5. A base of fluent speakers who are trained and work as educators;  
6. Documentation of the language in the form of dictionaries, written texts and audio or video recordings so that language learners have examples of how it is used at a high level;  
7. Communities that use the language in a variety of settings as an integral part of daily life; 
8. A strong link between the language and the identity of the people who are trying to protect it;  
9. Broad exposure to the language through a variety of media, including literature, music and broadcasting;

 Perhaps the most important factor - and the hardest to achieve - is the willingness to commit to a process that may take a generation to bear fruit.  As Maori Educator Bentham Ohia said: "You have to plant the seeds of the trees that may never shade you, but will shade your grandchildren."

More Funny, Less Royal, And Wedding Day Baseball.

Last Week's Poll: What Do You WANT from Us?

Being both exceptionally nosy AND committed to our beloved readership, we asked you last week we asked what kind of stuff you wanted to see more on the blog.  Here's what you said.

37% want more of the funny stuff.
27% want to hear more about the projects we're working on.
26% want to learn more tips.
11% want more CCG gossip.
And .02% want to read more about Royal Weddings.

All righty, then. Your wish is, as ever, our command.

This Week's Poll:

As regular readers are aware, Stonecircle Researcher Kory Goulais is getting married scant days from now, and his nuptials have occasioned an interesting cultural debate within the company - a debate which seems to split along lines of both generation and gender.

Put simply, Kory is wondering whether he should play baseball on his wedding day. This suggestion is eliciting responses in our office that range from a shrug and a "Sure, Why Not", to glares of incredulity and horror.

So we're going to do what we always do when in doubts - trust the wisdom of our readership. We put the question to you in this week's poll. Reflect carefully - Kory's Wedded Bliss may hang on your response.

What's the Budget?

Back in the dim, bygone days when I was employed by a not-for-profit organization, I used to sneer at consultants who responded to our Requests for Proposals with questions about how much we had budgeted for a particular contract. I knew exactly what those scoundrels were doing. If I told them we had $200,000, well, by gum, they'd give us a proposal for exactly that amount, or a few cents less. Being a shrewd and parsimonious fellow, I assumed that if I made them guess how much we could afford for the work, they'd give us a lower quote.

Around the same time my wife and I were looking to buy our first house. The first question the realtor asked me was: "How much do you want to spend?" And I told her, of course, immediately. After all, why waste my time, and hers, forcing her to guess what it was I wanted and how much I had to spend?

Do you see a bit of a contradiction there?

A Big Hand for Mr. Han!

After countless evenings with his nose in the books, and weekend hours that would make your cellphone plan jealous , our finance and accounting wizard Lei Han is done! Lei recently successfully completed his final two exams of Strategic Financial Management and Public Sector Financial Management to become a Certified General Accountant  finalist. Congratulations Lei (although we're not surprised you did it)!

We have heard unconfirmed reports that the panel of judges also elected Lei "Mr. Congeniality".

Update: Helen on the Land

After spending three days in a cabin at Rymer Point (on south west corner of Victoria Island), Aarluk President Helen Klengenberg reported in a short Saturday telephone conversation to husband Paul Murphy that she and her two brothers, Danny and Isaac, were camped out on the ice 100 miles west. Paul concluded his note to us with the cheerful prediction: "Look out. nanuk – she's coming for you!"

It seems he was right. Until this week Helen had never SEEN a polar bear, although long-time readers will recall she was was trapped on a sandbar with one three years ago. However, yesterday, she reached by Paul by satphone and informed him that she had just shot her first one ever – a 7-footer that she will tan and bring home to their new Alberta residence.

For Helen's complete travel plan, visit the following post: http://ccg-ourtimes.blogspot.com/2011/03/helens-summer.html

Tungasuvvingat Inuit: A Quarter Century of Service

One of our longest standing clients is Tungasuvvingat Inuit, the ground-breaking organization that provides service to one of the largest Inuit communities in Canada - the Inuit who live in Ontario. TI has grown from a tiny, local  organization atop a Bronson Avenue Pita shop to a diverse and sophisticated provider of programs and services across the province.

Consilium Manager and HR specialist Leslie Sutherland has been providing planning, training and mentorship support to TI for the last two years, working closely with Noodloo Noah, Executive Assistant. Leslie also supported the recruitment of T.I.’s new Human Resources Manager, Mark Mongrain. Over the next year, Leslie and her team will continue to proudly support the work of this unique and highly successful organization.

What We Did On Our Spring Vacation

One of coolest things about traveling with a film-maker dive buddy is that the photo album you end up with is a little more dynamic than most.

Inclusion Works - Starting Today!

This week the Aboriginal Human Resource Council (AHRC) is hosting Inclusion Works, its annual job fair and Aboriginal HR conference, in Montreal enters the picture. AHRC link the growing pool of trained, educated and eager Aboriginal workers with career and employment opportunities. This year Stonecircle is contributing a key component to the conference. Jennifer David and Kory Goulais have prepared 20 detailed case studies on businesses that have incorporated policies or practices that encourage Aboriginal inclusion and Aboriginal recruitment and retention.These will be tabled this week at Inclusion Works to stimulate some discussion and creative thinking about the challenges, successes and issues in Aboriginal HR, under the capable facilitation of Aarluk's Victor Tootoo.

INCLUSION WORKS '11: May 3-5, 2011. Le Centre Sheraton, 1201 Boulevard Rene-Levesque West, Montreal, QC.

Everyone Knows It's Windy

Overheard from the reception area, mid afternoon Thursday April 27, as winds reached 100 km.hr.  The voice is that of Leslie Sutherland, our General Manager.

"Okay, which fence blew down?"

(Pause)

"All right, I'll look after it when I get home."

(Pause)

"Don't worry, the dog will come back. She never goes too far."

(Pause)

"Which tree?"

(Pause)

"The fir tree from next door? The BIG one?"

(Pause)

"Right in the driveway?"

(Pause)

"Okay, just a second." 

(Click.)

"Chuck, is it okay if I leave a little bit early today?"

Galin Gets Certified. In a GOOD Way.

Our Galin Kora is a pretty remarkable guy. Multilingual (English, Albanian, French, Italian, and a smattering of Bulgarian ), cosmopolitan (with work experience in Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, India, Bulgaria, Tanzania, Thailand, Ghana, Peru, Romania, Sri Lanka, Bolivia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Albania), and multifaceted (with an excellent operatic tenor). Now he has one more set of letters to add to his M. Sc. - Galin has just won his Certified Management Consultant designation.

It's often said that anyone can become a consultant - which can make it hard to know who you're hiring. Galin's new CMC designation is the only internationally recognized designation for professional consultants, achieved through a rigorous course of studies, experience, and assessment and sponsorship by other professionals. The CMC designation is your assurance that the consultant you've hired brings an open mind, an educated, objective viewpoint and a focused skill set to the task of recognizing and resolving your challenges.

One of our goals at Consilium, Stonecircle and Aarluk is to obtain CMC designation for our entire consulting team. Two of our staff (Chuck Gilhuly and now Galin) won their certification this year, with Jennifer David, Patti  Black and Terry Rudden in the works, and more to come.

No one else is, however, is planning to learn Bulgarian at this point. That'll be Galin.

Royal Weddings and Your Blog-Wishes

Last Week's Poll

In an uncharacteristically curmudgeonly mood, we invited our readers to share what they'd rather be doing than watching a Royal Wedding. Here's what you told us.

• 44% percent would rather be golfing.
• 21% would prefer to chew off their own foot.
• 7% would prefer to spend a year in solitary confinement. 
• 7% would rather be dunked in a vat of boiling javex. 

And a surprising 21% of hardcore, die-hard romantics told us that they're rather watch TWO Royal Weddings.

Well, it's all over now: we officially set aside the boiling javex and wish all the best to William and Katherine who, of course, are regular readers of this blog.

This Week's Poll: What Do You WANT from Us?

Last month we transmogrified "Our Times", the trusty old Consilium e-Newsletter, into "Our Times - The Blog".

You seemed to like that. We used to get about 600 hits per month on our newsletter page: in its first month, the blog was visited over 3,200 times. Even more surprising, we've discovered we have regular readers in the United States, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Pakistan, Israel, Bangladesh, South Africa, Germany,  and the United Arab Emirates.

So tell us...what do you want to see more of?