Cultural Awareness Workshop a Success

1. Until 1985, Status Indian women who married a non-'Indian' automatically lost their rights. True or False? 
2. There were roughly 10,000 Aboriginal people living in what we call North and Central America at the time of contact with Europeans. True or False? 
3. Statistics confirm that the three most widely spoken Aboriginal languages have a good chance of survival. True or False?

If you answered true/false/true to the above questions, then you might have won the prize if you were among the staff at the Specific Claims Tribunal earlier this week when Jennifer David facilitated a cultural awareness workshop, The one day session entitled "Seeing Red: an Introduction to First Nations, Inuit and Métis in Canada" provided an opportunity for the 15 staff members at the Tribunal to have an "Aboriginal 101" training course.

Topics included: "Who are these people, anyways?" "Politically Correct Nomenclature", "Dispelling Stereotypes", "Defining Moments in Canadian History" and "Healing and Resilience." The multimedia and interactive workshop also included our Stonecircle "Tribial Pursuit" quiz with questions like the ones listed above.

If you know of an organization or government department that might require a customizable one-day Aboriginal awareness workshop, please contact Jennifer.

Nunavut Municipal Performance Measurement

What is the average cost of recreation expenditures in municipalities with a population under 600? What is the estimated litres per capita of water delivered in Nunavut municipalities? What is the financial position of all Nunavut municipalities? All of these questions are answered annually by the Nunavut Municipal Performance Measurement Report (NMPMR).

Starting nine years ago, the Nunavut Municipal Training Organization (MTO) has been measuring, benchmarking and publishing municipal performance for all municipalities in Nunavut. The goal of the report is not to endorse any one level of services, but simply to allow municipalities to measure their results against other municipalities of the same size. This can help highlight best practices, identify areas of potential improvement, and, for the MTO especially, help design training programs.

The NMPMR has been published annually, tracking trends and results by population size in all areas of municipal government services. Over 40 areas of performance are tracked, from how much local recreation revenue is collected, to the costs of power/heat, to the bottom line of financial position.

Aarluk's Chuck Gilhuly and Geoff Rigby crunched the numbers on all 23 non-tax based municipalities in Nunavut on behalf of the MTO this year and have forwarded the final report for distribution to all municipalities.

Performance measurement and benchmarking can provide concrete, practical information for municipalities in budgeting, performance improvement, and many other areas. It helps to ensure the best services at the best possible cost, in addition to increasing the accountability of elected officials and staff to local residents. It's a process that any organization can benefit from!

N-CAMP Frolics in Kugluktuk

Jimmy Jacquard, Fisherman

From the desk of Jimmy Jacquard, Fisherman... errr... Road Warrior:

The third and last community consultation for the Nunavut Community Aquatic Monitoring Program (N-CAMP) took place in Kugluktuk April 10th-12th. What a great time to be in Kugluktuk, as the week-long activities known as the Frolics were happening. For those of you city folks (Iqaluit, I mean), the Frolics would be the equivalent of Toonyk Tyme, except that they last longer and there are more events. It was a great time of year to visit Kugluktuk as many people were out and about, which made it easier for us to spread the N-CAMP idea to key community stakeholders.

We were not surprised that everybody we spoke to was very excited about the N-CAMP idea. Providing such training empowers communities and makes them less reliant on outside agencies, and who wouldn’t like that? The Hunters and Trappers Organization (HTO), the Hamlet, the Kitikmeot Inuit Association (KIA), the regional office of the Government of Nunavut's Department of Economic Development and Transportation (ED&T), individuals we spoke to from other various departments, and the general public were all in strong favour of offering such training.

Unlike in Coral Harbour and Igloolik, where the focus was more on developing the economic potential of the local fisheries, the residents of Kugluktuk have a priority that overshadows everything else. That priority is the Coppermine River, the very river that has provided drinking water and food to the Copper Inuit for countless generations. People from the community want to have the ability to test their river for contaminants, and to have the skills to ensure that the fish from the river are safe to eat. There are operating mines at the headwaters of the Coppermine and there is much more exploration and development underway, which is a cause of concern for residents of Kugluktuk. As passionately stated by an elder during our visit, “The river has always been the lifeblood of the community.”

Snowmobile races on the Coppermine as part of the Frolic festivities

Although the N-CAMP program will have a core set of modules for aquatic monitoring and data gathering, additional modules may very well need to be prepared to meet the needs and priorities of communities. For Kugluktuk, this means the Coppermine River. Placing a high value on the very things in nature that sustain life is certainly not done enough in this day and age... Good on you Kugluktuk!

The N-CAMP consultation visits are completed, and it is now time to gather our team and write the report that will be used to gather the support and funding needed to move the project forward to Phase II. Exciting times in the world of aquatic monitoring program development!

Happy Birthday Terry and Ron!

"Friends"  Ron Ryan and Terry Rudden

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again….it would be a lot faster to list the Consilium folks who DON’T have birthdays in April…..but we’ll go ahead and wish a very 'Happy Birthday' to two of the longest standing (yes they are still standing) Consiliumites. Happy Birthdays to Terry Rudden on April 23rd and Ron Ryan on April 24th. We all wish you many more. That’s it for April birthdays...stay tuned to see who will be celebrating in May!

The Digital Classroom

The last exercises are done, the last marks are submitted, and the virtual classroom door swings shut. A landmark in Northern training concluded last week, and the results surpassed expectations.

The Internet and new communications technologies have transformed the way we bank, converse, play games, watch movies, and read our news. They've also changed the way we learn. Educators around the world are now delivering courses through the Internet that range from Classical  Greek to Workplace Safety.

Earlier this year Aarluk Consulting teamed up with the Municipal Training Organization and Nunavut Arctic College to adapt and deliver five courses from the popular Municipal Government Program (MGP) online. The five core MGP courses cover Introduction to Northern Government, Management Communications, Public Sector Finance, Human Resources Management and Introduction to Computers. In the past, learners were flown from across the Territory to participate in classroom sessions. That would mean an absence of up to two weeks, training in a new community and environment, and a mountain of work on their return.

Enter online learning. The new approach spread the training over  three weeks. Learners attended a 'class' with their virtual peers a couple of times a week, and worked on courses on their own time - sometimes during the day, sometimes during the evening and on the weekend, but always with a dedicated e-teacher in the background, technical support, and other students learning at the same pace and style.

We have to admit to some pre-course jitters in the days leading up to the first delivery. Many Nunavut communities have trouble accessing the Internet, and we weren't sure students would establish the same sense of community and mutual support that a classroom could achieve. 

No worries. The online delivery was a complete success. Some of the comments made by the students include "I am hooked, I want to learn more", "This course was way better than I thought it was going to be - very interesting", and "I couldn't have done this without the support my employer and my family gave me - I'm so thankful to have completed these courses!"

Many students started out not really knowing what to expect (as did the instructor!) and much to everyone's delight, an online learning community was quickly established. Several sessions of synchronous learning took place each week; everyone discussed key questions arising from the course material online, dealt with technical issues, and in general, got to know each other in the virtual world. Everyone spent several hours working through the course material, all of it online. Quizzes, assignments and posting one's thoughts in an interactive forum were all part of the course that learners pursued on their own time.

There were the usual technical glitches, of course; but thanks to the instructors, the technical support team,  and support on the ground in the communities from Arctic College and SAOs, these were quickly solved, and challenges often became great learning opportunities.

With the first batch of courses done, reflection can take place. More than one student commented that they wouldn't have been able to finish these courses if they had have been required to travel to complete them - this online method of training opens many new doors for adult learning.

Kudos to a great team. There are too many to thank - you all know who you are - but we would especially like to tip our hats to:

• all those at Arctic College who supported the program, including Jason Brown, Fiona Buchan-Corey and Mike Shouldice;
• the folks at the Municipal Training Organization, and especially Matthew Ayres and Aseena Allurut;
• the Aarluk team, including Michelle Turpin, Scott Black and Kory Goulais (instructors), Neil Burgess (Moodle Wiz and Instructional Design), Terry Rudden (andragogical review and quality control) and Chuck Gilhuly (Project Management);
• the SAOs and Arctic College staff who leaped into the breach and helped out with local problem solving when needed;
• and last but never least, the wonderful participants whose willingness to commit their time and patience to this project made it the success it was. Kujannamik!

Consilium Ink.

The Mystery Wrist

A complimentary Aarluk Flash Drive to the first reader who guesses whose wrist was embellished last night with this exceptionally tasteful new tattoo, and posts the correct response in the comments below. No Consilium, Aarluk or Stonecircle employees may guess, and nor may any relatives of the wrist in question.

N-CAMP Group Finds Best Pizza in the Circumpolar World

Jimmy Jacquard, Aarluk Manager
and Senior Consultant

From the desk of Jimmy Jacquard:

Yes you read that right, Igloolik boasts the best pizza in the circumpolar world! On Monday April 2nd, the N-CAMP (Nunavut Community Aquatic Monitoring Program) group left from Iqaluit to go to Igloolik for a few days to promote the program. We were welcomed with open arms by Tujurmivik Hotel owner Elijah Evalujarjuk, who quickly showed us to our rooms and gave us a tour of the 8 room hotel. I had been told by a friend in Iqaluit that the pizza was incredible, so I asked Elijah about his famous northern pie, and he proudly proclaimed that it was "the best in the circumpolar world."

We did have the pizza the following night, and I must say that it was…actually, I think I will tell you later in the blog, to make sure you read the N-CAMP update first!

Both the Igloolik Hunters and Trappers Organization (HTO) and the Hamlet were very excited about the possibility of training community members to do fisheries and aquatic monitoring. The HTO has completed an application to the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) for the granting of an exploratory fishing license for one of the lakes that is much closer to the Hamlet than the current commercial fishing lakes. Once such licenses are granted, the DFO needs five years of data gathered to complete the analysis needed in order to grant a commercial license and determine a fishing quota. If we can get the N-CAMP program developed, communities like Igloolik will have local people trained to do all of the testing and measurements required during this process. All of the community members were in favour of such a program being developed, but for more reasons than just developing their local fisheries. Igloolik is a very traditional community that relies heavily on country foods for subsistence, and we heard from elders that they are concerned about contaminants, both on the land and in country foods. We were asked whether the training could include a module on contaminants as well, which is a possibility, as the idea is to cater the training to community needs and concerns. Hunters and fishermen in the area are also interested in exploring what other potential commercial species reside on the ocean floor close to the community. These are exciting times in Igloolik.

Not quite pizza... Bannock making contest on Hamlet Day! 

Now, back to the pizza. It was the best I have had in the north. Sorry Iqaluit, Yellowknife, and Rankin, but Igloolik wins in terms of both taste and price! You can’t get 2 two large pizzas in Iqaluit for less than $40. Nevertheless, the price of the plane ticket to Igloolik will not make it feasible to fly there for a pizza supper.

One more stop on the N-CAMP tour, Kugluktuk. More to follow…

The REAL Reason Behind the Loss of the Titanic

We also offered to do gas safety training for the crew of the Hindenburg, but did they listen? Of course not...

Goodbye Hal!

Ron Ryan, Senior Consultant

From the desk of Ron Ryan:

One of Baffin Island’s innovators has decided to leave the north to pursue another career. Hal Timar, Executive Director (ED) of the Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce (BRCC) for the past seven years has tendered his resignation. He has added a number of dimensions to the Chamber that will have lasting effects on the Baffin business community and beyond. As Hal prepares to move south of the tree line, we would like to acknowledge the many initiatives that took shape under Hal’s stewardship.

Community Economic Development (CED) Weeks. Working on the premise that if ‘they can’t come to us, we will go to them’ the CED weeks were managed by Hal and his amazing team at BRCC. The Chamber organized and coordinated travel to Baffin communities for development agencies, government departments, businesses and organizations that allowed these groups to share information and connect with people and businesses in communities. These mini trade shows allowed the participants to put on a display of what they had to offer and dialogue with residents. This consisted of different program offerings, the kind of finance that might be available for entrepreneurs, license applications for outfitters, insurance for tourist operators or how to access training, among many other things.

Development of materials and training tools. The Chamber developed materials, training tools and ran workshops on sector opportunities where various sectors of the economy such as tourism, mining, and arts & crafts were examined for potential business opportunities. Information was provided on how a business could get started and where financial resources could be found. For businesses in communities, access to this kind of information was important and essential to have.

Hal Timar, former Executive Director of BRCC, at
Northern Lights 2012

Nunavut Trade Show & Northern Lights – Business and Cultural Showcase of Canada’s Easter Arctic and North. Both of these events have grown tremendously under Hal’s leadership. Northern Lights boasts a great partnership between the BRCC and the Labrador North Chamber of Commerce and this high profile business and cultural showcase of Nunavut, Nunavik, Labrador and Nunatsiavut has had 3 major successful events including Ottawa in 2008, Montreal in 2010 than in Ottawa 2012. The Nunavut Trade Show has consistently grown and is now the largest annual business to business event. It is hard to imagine that there will be no more ‘Hal on the microphone’ at these trade shows. Not only are these events themselves very successful, the BRCC developed a manual and other resource material and ran workshops on how businesses can be better prepared for and benefit from attendance at these trade shows.

Creation of training partnerships. Ask any northern business what one of their biggest challenges is and one will find out that having qualified bookkeepers has been an obstacle to the success of a business. Through funding from Department of Economic Development and Transportation (ED&T), Department of Education and Kakivak Association, BRCC offered a certified bookkeeping program to Baffin residents. Now there are certified bookkeepers working in the communities as the result of the efforts of the Chamber. Not only was this accomplished , these bookkeepers if they so desire can move on to a higher designation in accounting such as Certified General Accountant (CGA) or Certified Management Accountant (CMA) as they now have the foundation to do so.

Hal’s enthusiasm, energy, interest and insights have been major contributing factors to the success of these initiatives and others not mentioned above. He will be missed but not forgotten. We all wish him well in his new chosen career as Sr. VP North American Operations, Plugin Construction Solutions (PICS).

Happy Birthday Leslie and Greg!

Yes, today is Friday the 13th. This day is often associated with bad luck and even has its on phobia: paraskevidekatriaphobia.

Well, here at the Consilium Consulting Group, none of us are paraskevidekatriaphobics. In fact, we strongly believe Friday the 13th is an extremely lucky day as it is thanks to this day in April that we have our Consilium Manager extraordinaire Leslie Sutherland and our evaluation guru Greg Smith.

Leslie Sutherland

Join us in wishing Leslie and Greg a Happy Birthday!

Greg Smith

And to all the paraskevidekatriaphobics out there, Happy Friday the 13th...

Happy Anniversary Patti Black!

Patti joined the Consilium Consulting Group as a contractor in October 2001. In January 2002 she decided being an employee was the way to go and we happily agreed. In June 2004 Patti was about to have baby number 2 – working as a contractor at this point allowed much more flexibility – so back to part time contractor status. Patti was busy both as a Mom (baby number 3 was born during this period as well) and a Consilium contractor for several years. We wooed her back into the fold full time as an employee in April 2011. If you’ve managed to keep this straight, around 2004 Patti also became a Consilium Shareholder.

Patti has had many clients in her years with Consilium – her main client since 2003 has been the Land Claims Agreements Coalition that Patti continues to work with on a regular basis. Patti just completed managing all the logistics for a 2-day workshop entitled “A Crash Course on the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement” for Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. Thank you Patti for 11 great years, we think you are fantastic!

Stonecircle now assisting in capacity building in First Nations

First Nations now have another potential opportunity to work with Stonecircle in the area of capacity development.

The First Nation Market Housing Fund was created to support financing arrangements for housing on reserve. The fund has two elements. One is a Credit Enhancement Facility, which acts as a guarantor of housing loans for on-reserve housing.

Another element of the fund is the Capacity Development Program, which provides funding for First Nation communities that meet or are close to meeting the Fund's criteria for credit enhancement, but need further development and support.

The Fund will support the following services:

• planning and developing housing policies, financial policies, building codes
• supporting accredited programs for housing staff
• Design and delivery of workshops on market-based housing
• support for development of land use codes and by laws and registries.

First Nations who are successful with an application to the Capacity Development Program can then contract professional services to undertake the above and eligible costs will be paid by FNMHF. However, only consulting companies on an approved FNMHF list, are able to provide services.

Stonecircle submitted a proposal to FNMHF and is now included on the list of consulting companies eligible to provide these services to First Nations. We are currently involved with one community in northern Ontario to support capacity development through these funds.

So, if you are a First Nation and you need any support in any of the above areas, check out the FNMHF criteria and application form and contact Stonecircle if we can be of assistance.

Museum of Civilization Cape Dorset Online Exhibition

From the desk of Scott Black:

A recently released Canadian Museum of Civilization online exhibition is giving people across Canada and around the world a new opportunity to learn about the incredible artistic community of Cape Dorset, Nunavut.

Credit: Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation

Initially the Museum engaged Stonecircle to provide only the educational elements of the site, but Scott Black and Chuck Gilhuly worked with the client and other project partners over several months in 2011 to help develop the overall site design, select the images for inclusion and beta test the finished product.

The result is a site that delivers a variety of perspectives on Cape Dorset to a wide range of users. Very cool lesson plans (make your own prints! Produce a video!) cover grade levels from kindergarten through high school, quizzes test the adult user’s knowledge of Cape Dorset art trivia, and games enable virtually anyone to assemble puzzles of Cape Dorset art, or use individual art pieces to learn Inuktitut words.

Fans of Cape Dorset prints will see 63 gorgeous pieces, each shown with the name of the artist, technique used, date produced and other information. The pieces are also organized according to themes, such as “Animals,” “Myths,” “History,” “Hunting,” and “The Land.” The history section, organized by decade and written by curator Norman Vorano, is packed with photographs, more prints and fascinating details about the genesis of Cape Dorset printmaking in the 1950s and its evolution up to the present.

Teachers will find the lesson plans available in PDF format for download, and loaded with supporting content in the form of "how to" videos, websites profiling annual Cape Dorset print collections, and some other video content that’s just plain awesome, like the guy on a really big, loud snowmachine rocketing down an ice road at top speed. Oh yeah, now that’s Nunavut culture!

Lesson plans for the higher grades explore the relationship between the original artist and printmaker, challenge students to find the artists in their own communities, and encourage students to create their own art with techniques in use at Cape Dorset, such as block printing.

One lesson plan video features renowned artist Kenojuak Ashevak working in her home, commenting on both her work and on receiving the Governor General’s Award. Pitseolak Niviaqsi and other artists are also featured. Other videos introduce the visitor to the community of Cape Dorset from the air, and show artists at work on a hot summer day.

What this online exhibition offers, in addition to excellent information about the Cape Dorset art scene, is a window into Nunavut life that belies popular stereotypes. Having viewed the art, played the games, taught the lessons and checked out a few videos, the visitor comes away with a clearer sense of how life is really lived in Canada’s newest territory. You can visit the online exhibition of Inuit prints of Cape Dorset (Kinngait) here: www.civilization.ca/capedorsetprints/.

End of a Training Era: NITC Shut Down

(Former CEO Lorne Kusugak, Peter Kapolak, Hugh Nateela: NITC Offices in Rankin: Zak Kunnuk films NITC workshop)

After nearly twenty years of operation, the Nunavut Implementation Training Committee (NITC), one of the first organizations created in 1993 following the ratification of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (NLCA), closed its doors for the last time on Friday.

Despite NITC’s track record of successful training, the federal and territorial governments decided not to renew funding to support scholarships, workshops, and employment training for Inuit in Nunavut.

"This is an organization that really made a difference,” says Paul Quassa, President of the organization. “I’m very proud of what we achieved. Many of Nunavut’s leaders worked for NITC over the years, or served on our Board. Just about everyone received NITC-funded training or scholarships. Today is a sad day.”

NITC was established under the NLCA to support training within the complex network of implementation organizations in Nunavut. As part of its mandate it administered the popular Nunavut Beneficiaries Scholarship Program. It was also intended to assist the territorial and federal governments in implementing Inuit employment plans, and to help the planning and delivery of training.

Former Board Member Joanasie Akumalik in the spotlight; NS graduating class: NITC sponsored workshop on the land.

Consilium has worked with the organization since - and even before - its creation. Ron Ryan served on an advisory group planning for HR in Nunavut in the early nineties, and helped steer the formation of NITC. Terry Rudden was actually NITC's first employee, designing the organization, hiring its first permanent staff, and overseeing its incorporation. And it was an NITC project that  brought the original partners of Consilium together for their first  contract - a project that yielded the comprehensive, seven volume Implementation Training Strategy that shaped NITC's training plans and programs for the next twenty years.

"I don’t know what’s supposed to happen now", said NITC CEO Dorothy Merritt. "Over the years our scholarship helped hundreds of Inuit students through school, and we provided dozens of workshops on management, governance, special skills – training Inuit in literally every community. There’s no other funding for training like that."

Paul Quassa agrees. “The needs that NITC was created to address—training for Inuit in DIOs and IPGs, trying to establish representative levels of Inuit employment with the federal and Nunavut governments, coordinating training funding and programming for maximum impact—those needs remain after NITC ceases to exist. I hope NTI and the government don’t forget that. We changed a lot of lives: I hope our work wasn’t wasted.”

NITC’s last day of operations was Friday, March 30th, 2012.

Stonecircle Wins Contract to Deliver Mining Workshops to 32 First Nation Communities

Greg Smith, Senior Consultant

From the desk of Greg Smith:

The Stonecircle team is getting ready for some road trips coming up this spring and summer. Stonecircle has been awarded a contract to deliver up to thirty-two workshops on Mineral Exploration and Development to northern Ontario First Nation communities. The contract is with the Government of Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines. Stonecircle will be facilitating sessions in communities over the next four months. Greg Smith is the project manager, with Jennifer David (co-manager and facilitator for three workshops), Kory Goulais (logistics coordinator), Alex Ker, Fred Weihs, and Ron Ryan as lead facilitators. Stonecircle will also be joined by some new team members: Martin Doyle (geologist and mining development specialist) and facilitators Sharon Swanson, Chris McKay, and C. Daniel Wemigwans.

Over the past decade Ontario First Nation communities have experienced tremendous pressure as a result of unprecedented levels of mining exploration and development on traditional territories. And it looks like this pressure is not easing up. Many First Nations do not have the knowledge of mining or capacity to meet this pressure.

These one-day workshops are aimed at providing First Nation communities with increased capacity and improved understanding and knowledge of mining. Content will include information on regional geology, the exploration phase of the mining cycle, how the business of mining works, the mining cycle more generally, and how the economic benefits of mining can be realized by First Nation communities and youth. They will also include information on changes to the Mining Act and regulations, and their implications for First Nations, including expectations for increased participation in consultation and regulatory processes.

Stonecircle team members have extensive experience in working with First Nation and Inuit communities on issues related to community economic development, planning, and training, including in the areas of resource development and the negotiation of Impact Benefit Agreements.